Class of 2009
Major: Biology and Biotechnology, PreMed
Project Center: Hong Kong, China
Interactive Qualifying Project: Develop a list of alternative livelihoods re-employ a percentage of Hong Kong’s fishermen to help control over-fishing.
Shannon Brooks
January 14, 2008
Hi, my name is Shannon Brooks and I am a junior biology and biotechnology major from Walpole, MA. I am going to be spending this term abroad in Hong Kong with a group of other students to complete the second of WPI’s projects, the IQP. On campus, I am the treasurer of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority, a member of the women’s rugby team and a tour guide.
I am getting ready to spend the next seven weeks in the amazing city of Hong Kong! There will be a group of 21 of us that will be staying there to work on our Interactive Qualifying Projects. Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997 when it was transferred to the People’s Republic of China so it is a really unique mix of both western and eastern cultures. Since Hong Kong used to be part of the United Kingdom, English is the language of government and is still commonly spoken by many within Hong Kong which will be helpful when it comes to things like getting directions or reading street signs. Many of the older local residents use their native Cantonese much more than English and since we are living in an area of mostly elderly people, we will need to be able to speak some basic Cantonese. Once arriving in Hong Kong, we will be taking some Cantonese lessons to allow us to communicate even better. I can’t wait to get to Hong Kong and experience such an awesome culture!
I am working with three other juniors from separate fields of study to complete my IQP while in Hong Kong. The point of the interactive project is to develop teams that will work together to apply their separate backgrounds and skills to create a project that will benefit society. We are working for the World Wide Fund for Nature or WWF. The WWF is an organization dedicated to building a future where humans can live in harmony with nature. Since Hong Kong is made up of a series of islands, a large part of the economy comes from the seafood caught off the coast. Over the past few years, Hong Kong has developed a large over-fishing problem which is causing many of the fish within the ecosystem to become extinct. Our goal is to develop a list of alternative livelihoods to use to re-employ a percentage of Hong Kong’s fishermen so that the over-fishing problem will subside. Using our research and the data that we have collected, the WWF is planning on proposing changes to the Hong Kong government to prevent further damage to the marine life. We started our project last term on campus when we took an introductory course that prepared us for our time spent abroad and the requirements for our project. The preparation time allowed us to start our research and begin to develop our paper. We began interviewing re-employment agencies in the WPI area to get a sense of techniques and practices that are commonly used when re-employing people.
The last few days before leaving the U.S., I couldn’t help but be nervous about the flight and whether I would like the culture. It definitely wasn’t easy to say goodbye to all of my friends back home either. I was so excited and nervous to just get to Hong Kong that I hadn’t really considered exactly how long the flight would be…16 hours! It worked out well though because about half us who are staying in Hong Kong were able to book tickets together on the same flight. It was a long flight but at least I was able to share it with friends. With the thirteen hour time difference, we were all a little tired and jetlagged but we easily found our way to the Olympic Terrace Suites in the Sham Shui Po district where we are staying. We were just so excited to be in this amazing city and get started on our projects!
