Emily

I started to learn web design in early 2000. This is the first site I design.

I was born and grew up in Hong Kong...

My Chinese name is Manhoi (in Cantonese) or Wenkai (in Mandarin) which means victory.

When I was young, I was a very quiet girl. Every teachers in my schools said so in my report cards at the end of each semester.

I loved to read. I also collected stamps. My collection included stamps from many Asian, American and European countries. I spent a lot of time practicing Chinese calligraphy since I was six. My parents put strong emphasis on their children's handwriting.

I took my first piano lesson when I was seven. I guess I was a decent student, but I never got too crazy about it. I just didn't like the idea and pressure of having to take examinations to get into a higher grade every other year or so. I think I would enjoy it more simply as a hobby. I took piano lessons for ten years, and I passed the Associated Board of The Royal Schools of Music Grade 8 Pianoforte examination in 1991.

I started kindergarten at age 3. My parents told me I was so scared of going to school at the beginning that I kept crying and crying in the classroom for a week. I attended St Stephen's Church Primary School from 1st to 6th grade and Ying Wa Girls' School from 7th to 11th grade (F1 to F5). My school years in Hong Kong was quite enjoyable, except the examinations were endless.

My family immigrated to the US in 1991......

I was very excited about coming to this new country. My family decided to settle down in New York. I fell in love with New York City immediately.

I finished my last year of high school at W.C. Bryant High School in Queens. I spent my first year of college at Queens College, CUNY. I transferred to Barnard College, Columbia University in my sophomore year, and I graduated with cum laude in 1996. My major was Chemistry and my minor was Economics. During my senior year, I did inorganic chemistry research in synthesis and characterization of new luminescent rhodium (III) complexes at Dr. Elise Megehee's Laboratory at Barnard under the Hughes Fellowship and completed my senior thesis.

After college, I started my graduate study in Biochemistry at New York University and I received my Master degree in 1998. I was working on research in DNA nanotechnology at Dr. Ned Seeman's laboratory at NYU. In particular, I was responsible for investigating the properties and uses of DAO molecules (DNA structures containing two Holliday junctions connected by two double helical arms.) I was also a teaching assistant at NYU, instructing and supervising undergraduate students in first year general chemistry and biochemistry laboratory courses.

During the summer of 1996, I worked at the Everybody's Thrift Shop in midtown New York (it already closed down in 1999) with a group of Barnard alumnae to raise scholarship fund for our college. I was also a New York Cares volunteer in New York since 1998, participating in community services and the Secret Santa Program held every year before Christmas time.

Chen and I met in early 1998......

Chen is a good man, mature, intelligent and caring. We have many things in common and we share everything with each other. We got married in January, 2000. A few months afterwards, we moved from New York to San Jose, California.