Scholar Spotlight: Joyce Lee

Joyce is a second-year student in BSc Physiotherapy. Originally from Hong Kong, she received the 2025 Hong Kong Scholarship, funded by the generous donations of a group of Essex alumni from Hong Kong. We caught up with her to see how she’s getting on.  

What first made you decide to study Physiotherapy?

I chose to study Physiotherapy because I enjoy seeing people recover from illness and get back to their baseline health. I got an injury in high school when I was on the volleyball team. I sprained my ankle during a championship competition. I felt really disappointed in myself, but my physiotherapist helped and encouraged me a lot and it inspired me to study physiotherapy too.

What difference did the scholarship make to your experience at Essex?

The scholarship has helped me a lot. I really appreciate it. I used the money to buy some textbooks, one on anatomy and another on manual physiotherapy techniques. I also got a stethoscope for my first placement which is in the respiratory unit of the hospital. It also helps with placements travelling to and from the hospital.

How is your placement going?

When I first started my placement, I felt overwhelmed because it’s in an acute hospital environment and I really lacked exposure to a hospital setting. You also need good time management, it’s hard to balance the clinical work and academic assignments. But week by week, I started to feel more familiar with the hospital setting and the new routine.

My colleagues are really supportive, and they’ve taught me a lot, like how to communicate with elderly patients. There's a lot of stuff to learn on placement compared to lectures. I learn the theory from lectures like anatomy and how to deliver a safe treatment but in a real clinical setting, it's totally different. I think in the future I’d like to work with outpatients with musculoskeletal injuries.

We are so grateful to our alumni whose donations have made these scholarships possible.