Students earn recognition for outstanding service to communities worldwide
Two final year undergraduates have received the Dr and Mrs James Tak Wu Awards for Outstanding Service 2022/23 (Student Award) honouring their commitment to serving the University and the community.
Bliss Tan Xiao-qian from the Bachelor of Liberal Arts (Hons) in Global Development and Sustainability programme suspended her studies last semester to join the Lingnan Foundation W.T. Chan Fellowships programme in Los Angeles, California.
Bliss Tan Xiao-qian (left) and Anson Yu On-sang (right)
“I joined an NGO called Little Tokyo Service Center, where we provided translation and linguistic assistance for Chinese-speaking seniors to access government funding and services,” Bliss, who is Malaysian, said.
LU President Prof Leonard K Cheng congratulates all the student awardees for their remarkable achievements, and wishes them every success in the pursuit of their careers and further studies.
“This award is a great motivation for me, because it makes me realise that as a Lingnan student, I can actually apply the skills and the knowledge that I have learned in the classroom to the real world. It inspires me to continue to contribute to society, and work for NGOs and government-related fields in shaping social welfare after graduation.”
Another awardee, Anson Yu On-sang, who is from Translation and won a For Our Future Scholarship last month, has been devoting herself in community service for 11 years. She was listed as one of Hong Kong’s Outstanding Youth Volunteers in 2018 when she took part in a volunteer exchange in Busan, Korea.
Anson Yu On-sang expresses gratitude to donors for their generous support towards Lingnan on behalf of the scholarship recipients.
“I serve as the vice-president of social services in various organisations, and am responsible for running long-term service projects. There was a service programme on leadership training in which we university student leaders helped to train secondary school students and even younger kids as future service leaders,” Anson explained.
She has also volunteered to teach Chinese and provide emotional support for ethnic minorities.
To Anson, empathy and communication skills are vital to volunteering, and transferrable to workplace settings where people skills and thinking from others’ perspectives are essential. She looks forward to introducing new ideas in community service at workplace after graduation.
Established in 1998, the Dr and Mrs James Tak Wu Awards for Outstanding Service recognise Lingnan staff members and students who have untiringly demonstrated outstanding service to the University or community.
This year, a total amount of HK$19,503,300 in scholarships have been awarded to over 650 students.
Both Bliss and Anson received HK$5,000 cash and a trophy at the annual Awards Presentation Ceremony 2023 held on 3 April, which in total recognised over 650 students excelling in academic studies, commitment to social service and to sports. This year, a total amount of HK$19,503,300 in scholarships have been awarded.
