Ms Jess SHEK Kin-chong
Translating and Interpreting graduate
Walking with a white cane, wearing sunglasses, attending special schools, becoming a masseur... For many, this is the stereotypical image of a “blind person”.
However, Ms Jess Shek Kin-chong, who was born blind, breaks these stereotypes. Not only did she earn a master’s degree, but she has also held roles such as senior secretary at a major local bank and employee communications specialist at a Big Four accounting firm. To many, her CV represents a “different” perspective on what a visually impaired individual can achieve.
“In fact, many visually impaired people are highly capable. I am not the only exception,” says Jess, a PolyU alumna with a Master’s degree in Translating and Interpreting, speaking with calm confidence. “There are a lot of misconceptions about the daily lives of visually impaired individuals. We can live independently, use smartphones with the voiceover function, and have received mobility and orientation training. For example, if we accidentally stand between two steps on an escalator, it’s not as if we’d be completely clueless as people might imagine.” Behind Jess’s composed demeanour, however, lies a journey marked by numerous rejections, misunderstandings, and doubts about her abilities, each as daunting as a locked, heavy door.
When Jess first entered the job market, she sent out countless applications. What she received in return was silence, polite rejections, and demoralising questions during interviews: “Do you manage to go to the toilet on your own? Can you demonstrate how you’d make a phone call? Will your screen reading software cause our server to crash?” While her blindness seemed to narrow her world, Jess refused to be confined by closed doors. She pursued her master’s degree to prove her academic capabilities and seized every opportunity to showcase her value – whether through volunteer work or paid employment. With her exceptional language skills, she manages employee communications in her current role as a manager at a listed real estate company, demonstrating to employers that persons with disabilities can bring positive impact to the workplace. Outside of work, she actively promotes disability inclusion. As an Executive Committee Member and General Secretary at Hong Kong Blind Union for eight years, she dedicated herself to promoting inclusive employment by encouraging companies to embrace diversity through systems and culture. She also leveraged communications and public education, as well as organised activities to enable the public to better understand the visually impaired. By turning limitations into strengths and through years of professionalism and persistence, Jess was honoured with the “Life Driver Award 2020” from Hong Kong Rehabilitation Power!
This resilient alumna demonstrated her “never give up” spirit even during her studies at PolyU. “I couldn’t just flip through a dictionary to look up words. I once had a translation assignment – a 200-word Buddhist article – that took me two full weeks to complete. I’m grateful to the University, which has adequate facilities for the blind. My professor would send me materials two weeks in advance so I could convert them into braille for preparation. Many classmates also read for me and helped scan the hardcopy reference books.” What Jess found wasn’t “pity”, but genuine “companionship”. Indeed, one of the ways to move forward from stereotypes and misunderstandings is to reach out, connect, and continually refine yourself.
Being blind doesn’t mean being incapable. Failure doesn’t mean you are not able – it may simply mean the right opportunity hasn’t come yet. If you ever find yourself stuck at a crossroads, why not take a step forward, just like Jess? Walk steadily, one step at a time, towards your goal. Be your own helmsman – will your destination still feel so far away then?
In fact, many visually impaired people are highly capable. I am not the only exception.
Publishing Date: November 2025
