Intelligence, hard work, job satisfaction, opportunity and good luck, family support, health and longevity.
These were the six factors for a successful life spelled out by guest-of-honour Professor Michael M. Loy, dean of science and professor of physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, at Clementi Secondary School's speech day. 'Above all, work hard but also be smart,' said Professor Loy.
'That is the most important factor in success. Our prospects depend on ourselves.'
He urged students to be farsighted and to think more carefully about their work. If they chose a job they were interested in and skilled at, they were likely to put a lot of effort into it, and might achieve greater success.
Professor Loy graduated from Clementi 39 years ago, when the school was located at Fortress Hill Road. At the time, facilities at Clementi's were simple and crude, he said. Nowadays, there were new computer rooms, and music-for-all and video-broadcasting programmes that helped improve the learning environment, he added.
Principal Tang Chan Wai-ling reported on students' achievements, both academic and extra-curricular, last year. The girls' team won the Inter-school Badminton Championship (Hong Kong region), with the boys in fifth place. She singled out honorary coach Chan Kai-yim, a former Clementi student, for special praise.