Bio for Hong Loon Yoong

Davis United World College Scholar
United World College of South East Asia

Born: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Lived in: Malaysia, Singapore, and the USA
Major: “Maybe” Economics

 

When asked what leadership positions he held at UWC of South East Asia, Hong Loon modestly states, “I had only one small positon of leadership and that was as manager of the lion dance troupe at UWCSEA.” Yet, several of his teachers describe Hong Loon as “a regular leader in classroom discussion” and his project week sponsor in Banda Aceh, Indonesia calls him “a team leader, pulling the rest of the group together.” Certainly, Hong Loon exhibited leadership skills with his involvement in Chanbara (free style Japanese martial arts), field hockey, floorball, and rock climbing while enrolled at UWC.

 

Hong Loon looks forward to his first year at Lewis & Clark. “I chose Lewis & Clark because it is a community that has a dynamic interest in other cultures and in international affairs. I want to learn about other cultures, but I want to teach others about my home country of Malaysia, too. Even before stepping foot on the Lewis & Clark campus, I could tell from the admitted students chat room “Inside LC,” that there are a lot of interesting people who want to know things about the outside world.”

 

Hong Loon has a number of concerns about college, as all students do! He worries about his English proficiency. “Will people understand my accent? Will they be forgiving of the fact that I speak English as a foreign language? (Modestly he does not mention that he is fluent in Malay and three dialects of Chinese and that he is studying Spanish!) He also worries about fitting in, “I study a lot, but I am the kind of guy who likes to chill when classes are over unless something just pops up. I play a lot of computer and console games. And, I guess I am a bit of a computer geek.”

 

Hong Loon is not positively sure about his major, but he is leaning towards economics with an emphasis on the “business-side” of the field. He wants to wait to get a semester or two under his belt before he decides. As for after L&C, he says, “That seems a long way off and I don’t have plans right now, but I can see myself going to graduate school.”