Our Story

“I like my job. I will do my best to keep up the good work.”

Dream Chaser

"Opportunity comes to those who hold unshakable belief", a heart touching quote from a Chinese TV drama which has been wildly posted and shared on social media. Chiu Pak Nin knew that pursuing his dream to become an Information Technology (IT) technician was a journey that would not be fast or easy. It is not enough that he was willing to truly chase his dream, he also needed to work very hard on achieving it even when obstacles might divert him from continuing on the path to realise his dream.

"Pak Nin is the only student who has successfully entered the IT industry," said Mr Siu, a school teacher of Hong Chi Winifred Mary Cheung Morninghope School. Pak Nin has shown great interest in IT by taking the IT elective course in school and by spending a lot of time keeping up with the IT news. Students choosing IT elective courses must have some degree of interest in computer knowledge. However, only a few of them want to pursue a career path in the IT industry. "IT is a professional career that requires students to meet a specific level of qualification. They have to get recognized certifications before getting into this type of professional career. Besides acquiring a strong knowledge of IT technical skills, students have to deal with the exam with its questions in English. There is no doubt that gaining IT knowledge and learning English at the same time can be very challenging for students with special learning needs," said Mr Siu.

 

Moving Forward Towards The Goal

After Pak Nin had decided to build a career path in the IT industry, Principal Chu encouraged him to take the "Microsoft Certified Professional" Examination and asked for Mr Siu's help in assisting Pak Nin to prepare for the examination.

During the 2-year preparation period, Mr Siu spent a day or two after school to go through the examination syllabus with Pak Nin every week. "In order to improve his skills of reading and understanding the English language, Pak Nin used to add annotations on textbooks to memorize those "computerese" terms in English. He spent a lot of time using Google Translate to work on his English during holidays. With his inquisitive mind and great interest in IT knowledge, he set up a server at home to practice his computer skills," said Mr Siu. All his hard work paid off in the end, as he almost achieved full marks in the examination thus making a big step towards his dream.

To better train himself, Pak Nin enrolled in the 2-year IT course at the Vocational Training Council (VTC) to boost his knowledge and skills.

 

Learning Satisfaction

An animation guide book had opened the door to the IT world for Pak Nin. "Pak Nin was a talented student interested in exploring IT knowledge. During the SARS period, I bought him an animation guide book as a gift to make learning IT knowledge more enjoyable and fulfilling for him," said Principal Chu. She also encouraged him to demonstrate what he had learnt by creating an animated promotional video for the Hong Chi Climbathon Charity Stair Run in 2004.

In addition, Pak Nin was invited to manage the school's campus TV channel. By taking a leading role in the video production team, he could build up more confidence to increase his skills level.

 

Build A New Platform

By the time Pak Nin had finished his studies in VTC, the school created a new position of IT technician so that he could continue to develop his potential in a familiar place. After going through several rounds of interviews, Pak Nin was successful in obtaining a job offer. Would the job requirements differ from others when Pak Nin got hired? "His computer skills was above and better than the job description. With his diligent and well-planned working manners, he would be competent to carry out his duty and responsibility," said Mr Siu.

Up to now, Pak Nin has been working as an IT technician for 9 years. He has created a digital borrowing system -"the WTRS system" for helping staff in their lending of school tablets. Apart from providing borrowers with their loan tracking records, the system will also send out a due date reminder. This has helped in creating a paperless school and in managing teaching resources in a more systemic and efficient way. The system has been updated to the latest 6.0 version. In addition to borrowing school tablets, the system also offers advance booking of electronic devices and other facilities, which helps to relieve teachers' workload.

 

Giving Back To Society

Pak Nin always keeps up-to-date with the latest tech news by constantly looking at new gadgets on websites and on Youtube. And now, he has been focusing on adopting Virtual Reality (VR) technology as a teaching tool to improve students' engagement. He hopes that he can contribute and repay the education he received by giving continuous support to more students with special learning needs.

"Every student is unique and has his own potential. We will keep seeking different opportunities to boost our students' confidence in developing their fullest potentials. Pak Nin has made great efforts to improve his communication and IT skills which makes him indispensable to the teaching team right now," said Principal Chu. We shall do our best to provide platforms and opportunities to enable our students to demonstrate their abilities and to stand out just like Pak Nin has.