Today’s #ESFRapidFireQuestions feature Taylor Chung of Renaissance College (RCHK), who has been awarded the Chairman's Award for Leadership, and also the Chairman’s Award for Excellence for attaining 43 points in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma examinations. He is now studying for a Bachelor of Political Science at Baylor University in Texas, the United States.
 

Q1: How did your ESF education set you up for success?

My ESF education gave me the opportunity to serve alongside like-minded leaders, helping me learn from them and serve my community through environmental and student mental health initiatives. My ESF education set me up for success by teaching me how to think critically, analyse situations and make decisions based on logic and reasoning. My teachers taught me to write and speak, giving me the confidence to advocate for myself and on the behalf of others.
 

Q2: How did it feel to win the Chairman’s Awards?

I've been an ESF student for 12 years so winning the Chairman's Awards for Excellence and Leadership was a huge honour! After finding out, I felt overwhelmed with thankfulness!! I'm incredibly grateful for my teachers who guided me throughout my formative years, for my friends who've been with me every step, and for the support of the RCHK and ESF family during meaningful service projects.
 

Q3: What advice would you give to other ESF students who would look up to someone like you?

In our increasingly interconnected world, it's easy to get lost in the endless stream of notifications pouring into our devices. As a result, we need to be intentional with our time and choose to step back and relax. Rearrange your priorities! Take care of yourself and trust that everything else will fall into place!

One of my favourite childhood songs was: This Little Light of Mine! I remembered singing and dancing to it, as well as the fun hand gestures I made! This song speaks about each of us having a little light. The candle’s light represents our influence, and by shining our light, we impact the people around us. From being born in 2003 when we had the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong to COVID-19 today, we’ve overcome countless challenges together. It might be frightening to shine our little light, but we each have the potential to create tremendous change. We could be the only glimmer of light that someone sees. Each of us has the privilege to share our light. We can tilt our own candle to light another's, illuminating our surroundings and turning our little lights into one more powerful light for good. Choose to shine your light and burn bright!