By Casey Stribbell

Justin San Juan is enjoying a well deserved summer break from the rigours of university life. A recent TIS graduate from the class of 2015, Justin is studying at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as a civil engineering student.

Justin didn’t experience too much of a change when he moved from Macau to Hong Kong for university, “Hong Kong is quite a busy place, much hillier [than Macau] but just as compact and crowded.”  There were a few challenges, however, with the transition from high school to university level studies, “I had to really focus on studying the class material to get good grades since the courses are much harder at university,” Justin said.

While taking engineering, Justin has been “inspired” to work on a quadcopter (a multirotor helicopter that is lifted and propelled by four rotors). “So far, I have been able to purchase the necessary materials, solder them together, and get the program running. Now I have to fine tune it before its first maiden flight,” he explained.

Apart from academics, Justin has been able to actively participate in HKUST’s campus life. He has continued his athletic career by joining the university’s track and field team and has also been involved with societies and programs such as REDBird, a leadership development initiative. During the winter break, Justin  joined an outreach program to help children in Cambodia, “It was a humbling and fruitful experience to be able to communicate and be of service to the impoverished children there.”

Justin admits that being away from Macau and his family has been “fairly tough” however, this summer he plans on visiting the Philippines, his home country, where he’ll be reunited with his family.