Meet Priscilla Chan

Not THAT Priscilla Chan

For 老餅 like me who grew up in Hong Kong during the 80s, there is no better way to pass your time by Googling the once superstars from yesteryears' Pearl of Orient. With the ongoing of Sandy Lam's concert, it is only logical for me to dig up the latest scoop on her one-time classmate/nemesis 陳慧嫻. I was expecting images of 傻女 or that lamp shade hat from 秋色 to pop up on my laptop but instead what showed up is none other than Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg along with some Asian girl. 陳慧嫻 might have seen better days but you would have thought she would still be the most famous Priscilla Chan out there.




Well but no but no. Turn out I am obviously a little behind in the dating gossips of Internet moguls. Hot in the news earlier this year was that online networking revolutionist Mark Zuckerberg had come clean with his relationship status when he flipped his own Facebook page to "In a Relationship" with a certain Priscilla Chan whom he has been seeing ever since they were students in Harvard. That shouldn't be of any interest to me if not for one minor detail - I happen to know someone named Priscilla Chan who went to Harvard during the early 2000s.

In truth, to say I know Mr. Zuckerberg's girlfriend (and rumoured fiancée) is a little stretching; we were more like acquaintances through the same part-time job we both had in late 2002 only and I don't expect she would even remember me at all. In fact, not until I saw the hometown and high school in her Facebook page was I certain that she is the person I once worked with.




When I was laid off from my software development job one month after Sept 11, 2001, as the story goes, I went into an extended period of unemployment. On the advice from career specialists, I took up a part-time job in a local office supply retailer, not so much for financial reason but just to keep my spirit up. It is the kind of work mostly for high school students looking for some extra spending money. Although it isn’t something I am keen on repeating again, I still believe it was the right move at the time.

So for the first time in over a decade, I had high school kids as my co-workers and the best part of it was most of them assumed I was their age when I was actually at least twelve years their senior. Among them was a high school senior working at the register named Priscilla Chan, whose name was naturally the first thing that caught my attention. I had once asked her and she freely admitted that she was aware there was a famous singer in Hong Kong who shared the same name but she was quick to point out that she was born a tad too early to be named after 陳慧嫻. Later on I found out she went to the same local high school where I spent one year in before heading to college. So she updated me that Mr. Harrington, the History teacher who had lobbied to take me out of ESL (English as Second Language) into his class, has since retired.

Priscilla lists Cantonese as one of the three languages she speaks in her Facebook page but in the six months or so we worked together I had never heard her speak Cantonese. However, in the couple occasions where a few Cantonese-speaking customers were visiting the store, I could tell she can comprehend their conversation since she figured out what they are looking for. So it could be just that she wasn’t comfortable enough to talk to native Cantonese speakers, just like how I feel about speaking English socially sometimes. Besides, Priscilla was genuinely an amiable person - one thing I remember the most is she always gave another girl in the store a ride home after work. For a long time I just assume they are close buddies from school. Turned out they were from different schools and only got to know each other through work. For those who have never live in North America, you may not realize how huge a favor it is for high school kids to be able to count on someone for a ride when most of them don’t own a car.

Asians in America tend to have the reputation to be the model students who all excel academically and aspire to be doctors or scientists. Priscilla certainly did not disappoint these expectations. With her potential it was only natural for her to be ambitious when it came to her college choices. She has confessed to be feeling guilty about applying close to ten universities at the time because it would cost quite a fortune (the application fee for most colleges is about US$ 70 these days). Having been in the same position before I divulged to Priscilla one of the best kept secrets in Boston - you are allowed to have up to four college application waivers per lifetime, made available to you by The Education Resources Institute (TERI) in the Johnson Building of Boston Public Library. Considering where she eventually went (and whom she had met there) maybe I could claim some credits here myself. That of course is all jest, Priscilla is gifted enough to reach the top without anyone's help, much less mine. In fact, if I am not mistaken she enrolled at Harvard through Early Decision, meaning application for most schools was still open when she was accepted. Chances are she might never need to use the waivers at all.

When the news that she got admitted to Harvard broke a mild buzz of excitement was brought to the otherwise uneventful life in the store. In April 2003, after being out of a full time job for almost a year and a half, I finally landed a real job and back in the high tech. industry. Promptly I quitted my part-time job and I think Priscilla did the same a month before me, probably to get ready for a new life after high school. In the following couple years I occasionally wonder if I would bump into her whenever I pass by Harvard campus on my way to the library but it never happened. As the time passed she kind of faded from my memory, until now. Ever since her relationship with Mark Zuckerberg had become public she had been hounded by photographers and the media but information on her is rather sketchy. Some said she is currently in medical school but other said she is a grade school science teacher. Regardless, I am sure Priscilla will shine in whatever career pursuit she is undertaking. Let’s hope a bright and challenging future lie ahead for her, both personally and with Mr. Zuckerberg.