The BUddy Post – HKBU Alumni Affairs Office

The career path of alumna Fione Lo Sau-lai (History), now the Director of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, has gone through a number of changes. Not only that she has experience serving in various departments of the HKSAR Government, she has also adopted, in each of these postings, a dare to try attitude, and simultaneously has enjoyed thoroughly her career in the civil service. She strongly believes that opportunities abound for those who adopt an open-minded attitude towards work.

A Blessing in Disguise

Alumna Fione Lo graduated with a first-class honours degree from the Department of History of HKBU. Who could have imagined that she had gone through all the twists and turns in the early stage of her Baptist years. Having scored a very respectable result in the university entrance examination, Fione was confident that she could get admitted to the university she desired but unfortunately, her hope was smashed in the end. While struggling to find a clue for this misadventure, she got a phone call from the Department of History of the then Hong Kong Baptist College (HKBC) for an admission interview. As a Christian, she believed that it was God’s arrangement, and she ultimately got herself admitted. But her thought of getting enrolled at her desired university still lingered. After completing her first year at HKBC, she successfully got herself transferred to the university she desired. Yet, after just one academic term, she regretted her decision. She said, “At Baptist, all teachers and students treat each other with sincerity, and the campus ambience is cosy and friendly. You can hardly find this kind of human touch in other local tertiary education institutions.” With the assistance of Professor Barton Starr, then Head of the Department of History, Fione finally returned to the Baptist family to continue her studies. She confided to us saying, “I am truly grateful to the teachers of the Department for helping this “traitor” go through the winding but unerring path. Because of this, not only that I had to take up more credits, I also had to spend one more year at HKBC. Fortunately, by the year I graduated, the College had successfully acquired university status. This means that in the end, I got a university degree certificate as I wish. I say all these are the will of God.”

Success Originates from an Open-minded Attitude

Equipped with an inquisitive mind in exploring new frontiers, alumna Lo started her glamorous career after graduating from HKBU. Before she was promoted to her present position as Director of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in 2015, she had already amassed a portfolio of diverse work experience while serving a number of posts respectively at the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Antiquities and Monuments Office, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department Headquarters and the Development Bureau. In addition, she had also been seconded to work at the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, etc. Fione treasured the opportunities brought forth by each of these positions. She said, “Some people may focus on developing their career by pursuing one professional path. For me, I don’t want to confine myself to a particular area, and am of the view that one needs to adopt an open-minded attitude in any new posting, and embrace new challenges arising. It is not a big deal to me if my performance appraisal could be affected while adapting to a new role. What is, however, more important is the knowledge and skill set I can acquire in the process.” The various positions in the government have helped Fione widen both her experience and horizon. They have also enhanced her competency and sharpened her skills at work. Fione is of the view that the secret to achieving success at work is to be persistent in every job, and never give up because of the fear of failure. She can never forget the training she received at the Department of History at HKBC, which allows her to analyse and tackle issues from different perspectives. For all these, she thanked her alma mater whole-heartedly.

Professionalism Leads the Way to International Recognition

While working at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, alumna Lo led her team in the staging of a number of large-scale exhibitions, including the ones jointly held respectively with the British Museum, the Louvre Museum, the Palace Museum and the Moscow Kremlin Museums. The exhibition with the Louvre in 2017 later earned her the “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier Medal of Order of Arts and Letters)” from the French Ministry of Culture, in recognition of her museum’s strenuous efforts and outstanding contributions toward cultural exchanges between China and France. Sharing the story of the collaboration with the Louvre, she said, “While preparing for the exhibition, I don’t want to display the art work from Louvre just like what they are, as if displaying cane food. To that end, she and her team discussed, in sincerity and putting forth professional ideas where necessary, with the curatorial teams from the Louvre on how best the art pieces should be displayed. In the end, they agreed to make adjustment to how the exhibits should be displayed in order to better suit the taste of local art lovers. What made the incident more joyful is the fact that the materials produced by her team for the joint exhibition was later used by the French counterparts as supplementary teaching materials regarding the study of history and culture of China and France.

Step Out of the Comfort Zone, and Open up Boundless Horizon

Alumna Lo is glad that she has, throughout her career, the opportunities to try out a number of new postings, which enable her to stockpile more work experience and command a wider perspective in her career as well as in life. Her words of encouragement to young alumni: “Try to grasp opportunities while still young. The world is full of choices and the one you presently get hold of may not be the only one. That is why we should always adopt an open-minded attitude and try to step out of our comfort zone to face new challenges. In this way, you will be able to fully explore your potential and interest, and in the end will find a suitable path for your career. Imagine if you open up your palm, you will be able to grasp more opportunities.”