Veronica Chow CO16

Old Truronian International Boarder

Veronica Chow CO16 was an international boarder studying at Truro School between 2011 and 2016. Her parents offered her the option to study in the UK to experience a multicultural environment and meet new people, but she quickly found it was also a great opportunity to develop skills such as independence and problem-solving.

Veronica’s overseas education agent suggested Truro School would be a good fit for her. An only child, Veronica did not know anyone when joining but soon became best friends with fellow international boarders Caspar Chung CO12 and Ekaterina Datsko CO13. “We would hang out after school, we’d go get pizza together, we chatted about school and about our future – all that stuff – since we’ve all moved back to our home countries, we have not seen each other as much but we hope to be able to catch up again soon.”

Veronica enjoyed starting every school day with a healthy breakfast in the dining hall. “The teachers were warm and friendly; I particularly remember Miss Thompson (TS 2012 – 2017) – she was my economics teacher and deputy housemistress at the boarding house. Miss Thompson was very supportive when I was going through the UCAS procedure, which really helped me to shape my career path.”

As an international boarder, Veronica lived in the boarding houses during term time and used her half term holidays to travel to different countries to meet up and enjoy family time with her parents.

“Boarding at Truro School was an unforgettable experience! I appreciate that I was able to meet friends from all over the world and get to know their cultures. Like everyone I had my ups and downs during my time boarding but it gave me so many opportunities to learn and grow.”

Veronica’s mother tongue is Cantonese but she started learning English in kindergarten at the age of two and Mandarin at primary school aged six. Dreaming of a career which would enable her to travel and live around the world, she became fascinated by languages opting for GCSE French and Spanish with the thought of one day becoming a translator.

After completing her GCSEs, Veronica reached a crossroads when choosing her subjects for A-Level, struggling to choose between languages or science subjects, which is when she made her first decision to take a career path into engineering. She studied mathematics, further mathematics, and physics, but did not let go of her passion, and she continued to study Spanish as an elective whilst at university.

Veronica studied for a bachelor’s degree in Engineering at the University of Manchester before moving back to Hong Kong in 2020. She is currently taking a Civil Infrastructure Engineering and Management Masters at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Since deciding to opt for sciences at A-Level, Veronica has explored different fields within engineering such as mechanical and electrical, before deciding on her current career path in civil structural engineering.

“I’m really proud that I will be graduating with my Master’s degree in summer 2022. It’s been a fruitful time since I completed my Bachelor’s degree, as I have been working full time while studying part time. Learning is a lifelong process, and continuing education prepares me for new responsibilities and opportunities. These positive outcomes also help me with my personal development and improving my lifestyle.”

After completing her Master’s degree, Veronica plans to continue her education attending Graduate Training Schemes and attaining her Chartership in Civil Engineering.

Veronica is currently an Assistant Engineer for WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consulting firms, and her employment is based in Asia.

“My role as an Assistant Engineer is to assist the project manager to carry out engineering drafting work, research and analysis and coordinate projects in accordance with clients’ specification, contract requirements and ethics & compliance policies.”

With a busy work schedule as well as assignments to complete for her Master’s degree, Veronica has a hectic timetable. Nevertheless, she is a strong believer in the importance of maintaining a work-life balance, so likes to keep active with ballet and taekwondo, which she has been practising since childhood. She has also recently started yoga to improve her strength, balance and flexibility as well as finding it a great stress reliever.

Veronica has not returned to Truro since she left school, but she hopes she will have time to visit soon.