Outstanding CCA student shares her passion for impacting society

Hong Kong Ming De Association held an opening event for the “Ten Outstanding University Students for 2023” awards on 5 July, 2023. In it, Cheung Hoi-tung from the Department of Cultural and Creative Arts (CCA), as one of the winners of last year’s awards, shared her experience participating in workshops organised for winners, and how doing her volunteer work in a Taiwan experience tour reinforced her passion for serving the community.

Hoi-tung, a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Creative Arts and Culture and Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Music) (DD-BA(CAC) & BEd(MU)) co-terminal double degree programme, was one of the awardees of the “Ten Outstanding University Students for 2022” awards organised by the Hong Kong Ming De Association. Award winners were selected based on their individual academic achievements and final interview performance, as well as their participation in volunteer work, community services and other activities arranged during the selection period.

After winning last year’s award, Hoi-tung and other awardees from the same year formed an “Outstanding University Student Committee” and ran a service trip to Taiwan in April this year. During the trip, they visited elderly homes and nurseries. She improved her communication skills and is inspired to participate in more community service events in the future.

Having grown up in a grassroots family, Hoi-tung understands the difficulties of the disadvantaged and has always had a passion to make a difference in the world since her youth. However, she did not actively join many community services, as she used to think that volunteering work could not bring any significant changes to society, and that only those with sufficient resources could truly help the disadvantaged.

“Hong Kong Ming De Association’s outstanding university students programme changed my thinking. The association strives to encourage more young people to serve society. Through volunteering work organised under the programme, I learnt that it might be a fact that not every service can be sustained for the long haul and serve many people. But every time we serve people, we have already planted in our hearts a seed of love for society. With proper nurturing and care, the seed will grow and leave an impact on the people around us,” she said.

Hoi-tung is very grateful to Hong Kong Ming De Association for giving her the opportunity to participate in the volunteer trip to Taiwan. She said: “The four-day trip was packed with visits and exchange activities, throughout which I was able to apply my experience serving in Hong Kong. We exchanged ideas with youths from the Junior Chamber International Taiwan. We visited a childcare centre in the Datong District of New Taipei City, and assisted a local NGO to organise a service day for an elderly home. The trip broadened my horizons and enabled me to understand different needs from different sectors of Taiwanese society. I will continue to serve people. I hope that by ‘life impacting life’, I can be a part of the process of bettering the world.”

Hoi-tung was once unsure about the impact volunteering can have, but now, she believes that even though students may not have the power to change the world, they may one day become leaders in society that have the ability to accomplish their cherished aspirations of making the world a better place to live. Besides having a determination to change the world through social service, Hoi-tung –as a music major – also wants to use music to make people’s lives happier. “I like playing the piano and handbells. I have been a member of the university’s handbell team for four years, and I am now the conductor of the team. My teammates and I want to play good and beautiful music to entertain our audience, to bring happiness and fulfillment into their lives,” she said. 

Hong Kong Ming De Association holds the outstanding university student awards to encourage tertiary students to actively participate in volunteer work. Participants can explore their strengths via service and planned visits, bringing positive contributions to society. The nomination period for this year’s outstanding university students awards closed on 15 July. The association will offer a total of 20 awards this year. While the first 10 awardees will receive a scholarship of HK$10,000, the other 10 will receive a scholarship of HK$5,000 as an encouragement.