Rak Yang, graduate of EdUHK’s first cohort of Bachelor of Social Science in Psychology, has completed his master’s degree in Education (Human Development and Psychology) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Research Journey from HK to US
“Every degree has had its hardships,” said Rak. “But for me, it’s always been about getting to that next step.” Rak was happy to see the growth of EdUHK. “The Department of Psychology led me to research language acquisition. In my undergraduate years, my Honours Project looked at the utilization of morphemic and phonemic features of words to Chinese. I looked into Chinese learners with English as their foreign language. At UCLA, I’m a member of the UCLA language and linguistics research group, researching language.”
The Psychology Family
“Although I left EdUHK some years ago, I still keep in touch with many professors. I think of the Department of Psychology as a family; professors genuinely care for the students. They value student feedback and are very accommodative.”
No Fixed Rules of Success
To Rak, success does not necessarily mean completing a PhD degree or being a psychologist. “To succeed, one should embrace challenges. Sometimes, it is good to take on difficult tasks because that’s when we are most highly motivated. Although many people think a good GPA, referee, CV, or TOEFL/IELTS score helps, for me the most important thing is a willing heart to face the challenges.”
