- A judge for the category, Virginia Choi, managing consultant and country manager at Tamty McGill Consultants International, shares her advice for students
- Choi emphasises the importance of communication skills, especially at a time when most of Hong Kong’s pupils have been learning at home
This is not Virginia Choi’s first time as a judge for this category. Photo: Dickson LeeThe idea of the “win-win” situation is outdated and has been replaced by the “win-win-win” solution, says a judge for this year’s Student of the Year (SOTY) Awards Best Improvement category.
Having filled this role in previous years, Virginia Choi, managing consultant and country manager at Tamty McGill Consultants International, can perfectly explain why “win-win-win” is important.
She wants this year’s candidates to present the qualities that can help themselves and society create an ideal situation for everyone.
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How can this goal be achieved? Choi suggested that we should work together, as highlighted by this year’s SOTY theme, “Together we grow and achieve”.
“We can’t do anything without cooperating with each other,” said Choi.
She believes that students need to learn and practise this concept more than ever during the era of Covid-19.
“Since they can’t attend lessons at school, they’re probably weak in their communication and connectivity skills and should work on improving them,” she said, adding this was likely one of the biggest challenges for students nowadays.
“Students are studying and learning on beds when the in-person lessons are cancelled,” said Choi. “Students should leave their comfort zone ... Don’t be afraid of conflicts.”
For candidates from underprivileged backgrounds, Choi emphasised that the most important thing was how hard they worked to pursue their dreams.
“Most of the candidates joined the competition with limited resources. However, they met good teachers in schools that nurture them. So they grow and help their juniors,” Choi pointed out.
This year’s SOTY Awards is organised by the South China Morning Post and sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club. Nominations for the 11 awards across nine categories have been extended to April 30.