Ka Kiu (Kyle) Lau ’25 had a decision to make—continue living his boyhood dream of playing professional soccer or step away for a year to lay the foundation for a career off the pitch.
Breathtaking as it was playing at times in front of 50,000 fans in his native Hong Kong, the 23-year-old Pomona College alumnus ultimately chose to put his budding soccer career on hold to pursue a master’s degree in global affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing as a Schwarzman Scholar.
“It was a super tough decision to make because playing professionally is something I’ve dreamed of doing for so long,” Lau says. “But I can say that I got to experience everything I dreamed for as a kid. I got to play against Japan, Korea and China, and top European clubs like Manchester United.”
“I got to experience a lot of things I never thought I would,” he adds, “and I’m super grateful for Hong Kong for that.”
The one-year, fully funded Schwarzman Scholars program is designed to build a global community of leaders and is one of the world’s most prestigious and selective graduate fellowships.
Pomona has had at least one recipient each of the past four years.
Lau, an economics major who earned the scholarship in his second attempt, was one of 150 Scholars chosen from a record 5,800 hopefuls this application cycle.
“The Schwarzman network is so big that I’m going to meet a lot of interesting people,” he says. “The students are all amazing and have great backgrounds and experiences. I’ll be able to learn from my peers and find opportunities to do what I want to do in finance or business.”
Lau appeared in 50 games across his four seasons in Sagehen blue and signed with Hong Kong’s Lee Man Football Club in December 2024. He moved back home the night of Commencement, debuted for Lee Man four days later and subsequently played for the Hong Kong senior team.
“It’s a huge honor to represent the place I grew up in,” Lau says. “Stepping on the pitch wearing the Hong Kong jersey gives me a sense of pride and responsibility.”
As the youngest player on Lee Man, a top club in the Hong Kong Premier League, Lau had to earn consistent minutes at forward.
“The beginning was tough,” he says, “but I found my feet and became one of the better performing players. I was able to make a difference in games and am super grateful for the trust my coaches had in me.”
Lau learned quickly that being a professional athlete is more taxing than being a student athlete. Between daily practices, gym sessions, physical therapy appointments and film study, the rookie hardly had a minute to enjoy his mother’s home cooking.
The workload “was more than I expected,” he says, “but also a lot more fulfilling.”
Lau played in 20 of a possible 22 games for Lee Man during the 2025-26 season, scoring once and assisting on two goals. Lee Man captured its first Hong Kong League Cup in April and finished behind Kitchee and Tai Po in the final Premier League table.
As he steps away from soccer for his Schwarzman year, Lau remains realistic about the prospect of returning to the pitch in 2027.
He’ll be 25 at that time, which isn’t young in soccer years, he says. While in Beijing, he’ll also fall out of the routine he established this past season—training up to six times a week and thinking of little else besides soccer.
But Lau’s always lived his life staying open to different paths, “so this time won’t be any different,” he says. “If there is a good opportunity to come back, and it’s the right decision to make, I would love to step back onto the field.”
“But at the end of the day, Schwarzman was an opportunity that was too hard to forgo.”