From a hesitant secondary school student to a policymaker shaping Hong Kong, HKFYG alumnus Yandy Chan’s journey shows how participation, reflection and the courage to keep trying can turn uncertainty into purpose.
Step Out, Meet People, Reconnect
Yandy Chan did not grow up knowing where she was headed. Her journey began at a moment when she felt most out of place. In her early secondary school years, she struggled to adapt and once told her mother she did not want to go to school anymore. “It was very unlike me,” she recalls. “I used to insist on going to school even when there was a typhoon.”
What brought her back was not a sudden breakthrough, but a small invitation. Her school social worker asked her to join activities and volunteer work, to step out, meet people, and reconnect with the community. There was no pressure. “He did not try to fix me,” Yandy says. “He invited me to participate.”
That invitation mattered. Summers were soon spent at Youth S.P.O.T., helping, joining programmes, trying small things without knowing where they would lead. Showing up became a habit, and slowly, participation turned into perspective.
As she took part in the Federation’s initiatives, including the Young Ambassador Scheme, the head prefect training courses and the Federation’s “Hong Kong 200” Leadership Project, a programme that aims to cultivate capable and discerning young leaders, Yandy found herself being asked questions she had never considered before. “Those programmes kept asking us to think about the community, the city and efforts that young people could make,” she says. “Back then, the headline for Hong Kong 200 was ‘brushing colour into Hong Kong’s future.’ Looking back, I realise the real focus was on nurturing change‑makers.” She did not gain a clear answer about her future, but she learned how to ask better questions about her relationship with the place she called home.
Experience Over Certainty
Yandy studied business at the University of Hong Kong and followed what appeared to be a sensible path, which was taking up a banking internship. Yet, she was not convinced of her decision. “I realised I was not interested in working with numbers,” she says plainly. “I wanted to work with people and give back to Hong Kong.”
The idea of public service was not new. Years earlier, when she was in Form 3, she attended a youth forum organised by the Federation, where she first heard about the role of an Administrative Officer. “I did not really know what the job meant,” she admits, “but I remembered one phrase mentioned by the speaker, ‘be a change‑maker.’”
That phrase stayed with her, quietly resurfacing every time she thought about her long-term future.
After she eventually succeeded in joining the government, she attributed her success to the programmes she had joined, both within and beyond the Federation. “What helped me were the soft skills of communication, analysis and listening, which had been built through all those experiences outside the classroom.” Her path was not defined by early certainty, but by learning through experience and recognising what fit her best.
Policymaking on the Ground
Working in the government quickly showed Yandy that change‑making is rarely straightforward. To prepare for the unprecedented African Swine Fever outbreak in Hong Kong, her team had to compete against time and prepare for emergency plans within months. Yet every decision affected multiple groups at once. Some citizens were worried about price increases; industries were concerned about breaking evening and cross-border supply chains that were halted. “It felt like an entangled ball of strings,” she recalls. “We had to untangle it carefully under time pressure, because every single move affected someone.”
Then COVID‑19 came. During the early phase of the pandemic, she had to work through the Lunar New Year, helping to scale quarantine facilities and constantly revising policies as the situation evolved. The experience reinforced one lesson above all. “Policy‑making is not just about numbers,” she says. “It is about people and how we ensure their livelihoods, emotions and trust.”
However, Yandy is also very pragmatic and understands that often, the hardest part is not making a decision, but explaining it. “Sometimes people do not see the whole picture behind a policy. Communication becomes just as important as the policy itself.” For her, being a change‑maker meant staying grounded, and never giving up listening, explaining, adjusting and more importantly, accepting that progress often comes with tension and resistance.
Embrace Uncertainty
Life as a civil servant also requires agility. Having worked in different bureaux for the past 13 years, Yandy now works as the Principal Assistant Secretary at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, an area she had never imagined working in. Even now, she admits, there are moments of uncertainty. “I still get lost,” she says, “but that’s normal!” Part of the challenge lies in time. “Policy outcomes take years, sometimes even a decade. You need patience, and you need to keep asking yourself: What am I doing now? What do I enjoy? What role do I want to play?”
“It is perfectly fine to get lost, as long as you keep thinking and keep trying”
Outside work, she continues to explore without overthinking the outcome, learning calligraphy, practising Indian dance and meeting people from different communities. “If you do not try, you will never know whether something is right for you,” she says. “Staying curious about life, not just work, helps me understand people and myself better.”
For her, getting lost is not a failure. It is part of staying open, reflective and human.
When students ask Yandy how to choose a major or a first job, she does not offer a formula. Instead, she normalises uncertainty. “It is perfectly fine to get lost,” she says, “as long as you keep thinking and keep trying.”
She encourages young people not to wait for the perfect time. “You do not have to be 100% prepared to begin. Sometimes, being 60 or 70% ready is already enough.” Not every step will lead directly to a destination, and that is fine. “You may not reach the endpoint straight away,” she says. “But you can keep exploring nearby. Along the way, you will slowly understand what you want.”
Yandy’s story is not about having a map from the start. It is about learning to walk without one, from participating, to reflecting and moving forward. Along this ongoing journey, purpose ends up taking shape. ■
Yandy Chan is a civil servant and an active participant in the Federation’s programmes, including the “Hong Kong 200” Leadership Project. She now works as the Principal Assistant Secretary at the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.