Babies, work, rugby and studies for Rose

Rose Hopewell-Fong never lets anything slip through her fingers – whether it’s on the rugby field or in the classroom.

So when she picks up her University of Sunderland Alumni Achiever of the Year (Hong Kong) honour next month, she will be grasping it with both hands. It will be yet another honour for Rose to add to her trophy cabinet, which already reflects her hard work, not to mention her multitasking skills.

Rose grew up in Hong Kong but moved to England to study, also representing England U20s in rugby union. She returned home to Hong Kong, she went on to represent Hong Kong 7s and 15s Rugby Union in a professional capacity.

While all this was going on, the now 29-year-old decided to embark on the University’s long-distance learning PGCE programme, to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.

Rose went on to retire from professional 7s rugby in 2015, but has continued to represent Hong Kong in the 15s where they most notably qualified and participated in the Rugby World Cup in Dublin during 2017.

She also returned and represented Hong Kong 15s rugby in three international test matches as Vice-Captain before becoming pregnant again. She is due to welcome her second child in January. All of this while working full time in an international school, most recently earning a promotion into the Pedagogical Leadership Team.

Rose said: “I feel very honoured and so grateful that Sunderland has such programmes for long-distance learners.”