Quarantine in Hong Kong for the Fashion Exchange Student

Sandra Manerowska Start Date: Dec 26, 2020 - End Date: Apr 25, 2021
  • Hong Kong
  • China

My Travel Story

by: Sandra Manerowska Start Date: Dec 26, 2020 - End Date: Apr 25, 2021
Once someone told me that without action, dreams are just dreams, and I believe that my strong desire to become successful person is pushing me to take every educational opportunity that would help me with finding a way to progress. Therefore, I applied for Study Abroad Programme and chose the destination where I might gain the most – The Institute of Textiles and clothing at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Fashion is what I am passionate about, thus this exchange will not only be an unforgettable experience, but also an invaluable chance to invest in my own future career.

I was at my final year in high school in Poland, when I first heard about the possibility to go overseas as a part of Fashion Merchandise Management course in London. Ever since then, I have been saving money for this trip by working in the various positions. Starting as a Waitress, then moving to fashion-related roles such as Style Advisor, Visual Merchandiser Assistant enabled me to combine theorical knowledge and practice in the market.
 
Not only, I am determined to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience that are essential to the process of becoming successful in the fashion industry, but also, I intend to play an active role in developing social-networking skills to get an awareness of different culture and fashion markets.

 At my placement-year as a Digital Site Merchandiser at Selfridges I understood how networking with people from different backgrounds built my empathy and pushed me to appreciate and respect different perspectives. I would love to explore new fashion markets far away from Europe and studying at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University would allow me to do so whilst having a significant impact on my creative and critical thinking.
 
I would love the opportunity to engage in studying with committed and supportive people who will enable me acquire knowledge and skills. I hope to build on my networks whilst on study abroad. This, together with my team working ability and confident decision making have helped me develop awareness of my strengths. I believe that constant self-review enables me to take advantage of every opportunity as it presents itself.
 
However, with the pandemic approach travelling became much more expensive and complicated to organise. Even if I see myself as someone who is determined and always able to transform challenges into opportunities, this journey requires me to cover not only flights and accommodation costs, but also additional expenses that will enable me to safely travel to Hong Kong.
Your funding support would be an amazing chance to help me overlook challenges, such as recently annonced 21 days quarantine period in one of the designated hotels in HK, which, as you may assume, are incredibly expensive. I am not allowed to stay anywhere else as per government instructions. The quarantine must be organised and booked by me. The total journey is going to be a huge challenge, however I will not give up now. I have already went through all of the required application processes and will handle being alone in a hotel room during quarantine too!

I am so optimistic about going to explore and learn more in Hong Kong after my quarantine is finished :) 
 
I would be more than grateful to be supported by you as it will assist me greatly in the adventure and help me with finalising some parts of essential costs of it.
With my enthusiastic attitude and positive-thinking I believe I can fulfil my dreams and get the most out of a studying abroad in Hong Kong.
  • Hong Kong
  • China