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Tony Chen

Bio

Details: 19 from Zhejiang, China

Imperial Course: BSc Chemistry

Optional modules: Attributes and Aspirations, Horizons module ‘Science, Art and Design’, BPES (business management)

Previous Education: International Baccalaureate, Warminster School, UK

Clubs and Societies: Chinese Students, Chem Soc, Baking Society

Tags: Overseas, UG, FoNS, Chemistry, Long Covid

Motivations

Tony wants to stay in the UK and get a good job which pays well. He is interested in cookery and is hoping that his chemistry degree will lead to something in that area. He joined the baking society, but he doesn’t really engage with it that much. He lives in halls but prefers to hang out with other Chinese students so he can speak in his own language.

Frustrations

In his final year at school Tony contracted Covid-19 and has been diagnosed with Long Covid which he is worried will make some things difficult for him. He also feels pressure from his family to do well in his studies. He sometimes struggles to keep up with group discussions among peers and he worries that his English might not be good enough to get a good graduate level job.

AA Journey
DAS

AA Journey

Tony uses Attributes and Aspirations for Undergraduate the sections in bold refer to the units he takes.

During his final year of school Tony had Covid and has since been diagnosed with Long Covid and he would like some extra support to help with his health and wellbeing. He has already contacted his faculty senior welfare tutor to find out what his department can offer and uses AA2 for UG – About Imperial to find what other support is available. He also plans to use other units of AA and starts with AA4 for UG – Time Management. In this unit he looks at how to set up physical and digital environments that are conducive to productivity. Tony considers what he eats while he is working and decides to try using Strict Workflow when working on assignments. It helps increase concentration and discipline by temporarily blocking certain websites. He also makes use of the Inclusive Technology webpages at Imperial.

Tony completed his secondary schooling in the UK but moving to university is still a big change and in SD3 - Adapting to New Situations Tony uses the theory of planned happenstance to help him reflect on what he could do to improve his grades. He also considers what it means to fail. In SD5 - Dealing with Failure he reflects on a cooking experiment that did not go as planned and makes plans for improvement.

During his Horizons module Tony is sked to post in an online discussion. COM4 for UG - Communicating Online helps him identify good online behaviours when responding to online posts. This makes him consider other aspects of communication and in WWO2 for UG – Being Assertive he considers how to be polite and assertive with different people when applying for a UROP placement.

DAS

Tony was diagnosed with Long Covid while he was studying for his International Baccalaureate. While studying Attributes and Aspirations at the start of his programme he realised that he might be able to get some support with some of the issues related to his health. He works with the Disability Advisory Service to have ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ put in place for his programme. Visit the DAS site for more information.