Huberta in the U of T Magazine

In the latest issue of the U of T magazine, Huberta Chan (BA 2019) talks about a pivotal moment in her undergraduate education, which had been made possible by the U of T (Hong Kong) Foundation.

Huberta Chan (BA 2019 UC) received a foundation scholarship to study linguistics. She recalls that on the first day of her sociolinguistics class, the professor asked each student to introduce themselves with their name and the languages they spoke. 'The moment I demonstrated how to say hello in Cantonese was the very first time I was aware of feeling proud to be a native Cantonese speaker from Hong Kong," says Chan. "I had never appreciated the fact that I was bilingual."

She says her classmates spoke with similar pride about their own languages and cultures, and she grew interested in learning more about them. "My professor taught us that every language is special because behind each one are the culture and stories unique to the people who speak it," she says. "This is an idea I treasure to this day."