Best Progress Award

I would like to express my immense gratitude to the Government for giving me the Best Progress Award.  It serves both as an encouragement and a recognition of my effort during my learning journey.
I still remember vividly asking myself on the orientation day – “Am I an adventurer or a gambler?”  At 35 then, I had left school for almost 20 years.  Besides, I scored only two points in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination.  Many of my friends doubted whether it was too late to pursue further studies after 30, and my answer was: if I graduate at 40, there are still more than 20 years before retirement, and that means I have enough time to apply my knowledge and contribute to society.  Had I not made a decision then, it would be even more difficult to make up my mind to go back to study a few years later.  Therefore, I decided to take on the challenge and enrolled for the Higher Diploma Programme in Early Childhood Education offered by Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education.

In order to learn better, I devised strategies to enhance my English proficiency and academic performance.  To improve my English, I tried thinking in English, read more English books and journals, and used more English in daily correspondence.  To improve my academic performance, I reviewed and reflected on my practicum experiences, analysed the instructions and assessment criteria of each assignment, and substantiated my arguments with adequate high-quality reference.

After all, I am just an ordinary person.  Just like other students, I sometimes feel disoriented and frustrated, and even think of giving up.  But I have persevered and kept going.  The care and support of teachers at Yew Chung also helped me overcome every hurdle.  I was determined to finish my studies because I had longed for an opportunity to enter a local funded university.  Now that I am studying the Bachelor of Education Programmes at the Education University of Hong Kong, my dream is fulfilled.  My next goal is to pursue postgraduate studies.

May I share this with everyone: “Life is a continuous learning process, it is never too late to learn.”