Hong Kong student Vivian Chan wins the 2014 Yip Sau Kuen Award
Professor Eric Blyth gives the Yip Sau Kuen Award to Vivian Chan.
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 15:04:00 GMT
The Yip Sau Kuen Award is now bestowed annually on a social work student who has shown outstanding personal resilience to complete their studies
A UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield professor who established an annual award in memory of his late fiancé is delighted that in 2014 it is “going home” to a talented student from Hong Kong.
The Yip Sau Kuen Award was instituted in 2010 following the death of Cecilia Yip (pictured right), who was a Huddersfield student in Applied Social Studies during the 1990s. She returned to work in her native Hong Kong, where she developed a successful social work career.
One of her Huddersfield lecturers was Eric Blyth, who met up with Cecilia again after he was appointed a visiting professor at the city’s Polytechnic University. A relationship developed and the couple planned to marry. But she became ill and the couple managed only an informal exchange of rings before her death from cancer, at the age of 46.
As a tribute, Professor Blyth devised an award to commemorate the courage shown by Cecilia – the name by which she was known in English – and her determination to serve others. The Yip Sau Kuen Award is now bestowed annually on a University of Huddersfield social work student who has shown outstanding personal resilience to complete their studies.
Vivian Chan
The 2014 recipient is Vivian Chan, aged 20, Hong Kong-born and a second-year student at the University of Huddersfield. Passionate about social work, she aims to develop her career on an international basis and decided that study in the UK would give her a global outlook.
Vivian’s parents are both nurses. “They have always taught me to be patient and care for others,” she said. “I love doing voluntary work and in Hong Kong volunteers work a lot alongside social workers, so I got to know the profession.”
She gained experience working with children, the elderly, immigrants and the disabled and now, as part of her BSc course at Huddersfield, she will soon start on a placement with the Richmond Fellowship, which aids recovery from mental health problems.
Vivian, who is also an international student representative for the School of Human and Health Sciences’s International Group, is deeply absorbed in her degree studies. “The UK is where social work originated and developed so it really interesting to study here and learn more about the history and the theories.”
She is delighted to win the £500 Yip Sau Kuen Award, especially because of its moving origin, and she pays tribute to Professor Blyth. “He is a really good teacher who gives so much support. And he knows so much about social work development in Hong Kong as well, so he gives me a lot of guidance.”
Once she has graduated and completed her qualifications, Vivian aims to become an international social worker, based in a multi-cultural society – Canada is a possibility that has attracted her interest.
“I like the diversity of different groups and how they interact,” she explained.
A fitting tribute
Professor Blyth said that the Yip Sau Kuen Award is given to a student whom in the opinion of the social work teaching team at the University, “has demonstrated the resilience and tenacity that so much characterised Cecilia”.
He recalls his intention to settle in Hong Kong with his fiancé, to whom he became engaged in February 2010. But illness struck, and Cecilia – who had become Assistant Director of the organisation Youth Outreach in Hong Kong – died in May of that year.
“During her all-too-short life, Cecilia was a true ambassador both for the University of Huddersfield and for her chosen profession of social work. This was evident from the several hundred people, including many current and former service users, who attended her funeral,” said Professor Blyth.
“Now I am delighted that in 2014 the Yip Sau Kuen Award is ‘going home’!”
