.
17
SPOTLIGHT
NOV 2015
UMP
大學廣場
Mentoring as Relationship:
Sir David Akers-Jones's Devotion to
Nurturing Youth
In traditional Chinese morals and ethics, the
essence of a teacher-student relationship lies in not
only knowledge transfer, but also mutual pursuits
of the way: virtue attainments and benevolence. At
CUHK, in addition to receiving all-round education, I
am grateful to have built a special “teacher-student
relationship” with my mentor, the former Chief
Secretary Sir David Akers-Jones, under the CUHK
Mentorship Programme. I could still recall how
happy I was when knowing that I could be one of his
mentees, given his significant role in the Hong Kong
Government and charitable work across sectors.
Sir David has for long supported the CUHK
Mentorship Programme, apart from his leading
involvements in the Beam International Foundation,
the Wu Zhi Qiao Charitable Foundation, the Outward
Bound Hong Kong and other developmental work.
Despite his tight schedule, on every Saturday Sir
David met us to have in-depth talks on a broad range
of current affairs. I am very grateful to Sir David for
his strong commitment to us, which demonstrates his
genuine interests in assuring learning opportunities for
youth and encouraging them to help the needy in the
community. With his guidance and inspiration, many
of us have enhanced social awareness, deepened the
understanding about the globe and developed intense
devotion to civil and social duty. Affected by Sir David,
I have developed a habit in reading newspapers
and searching for different facets of social issues.
Sir David sets an example of what XunZi (
荀子
), a
Chinese philosopher says, “putting words into practice
(
身教示範)
”
.
Reflecting on the theme of “the traditional ethics
of mutual help between teachers and students at
CUHK”, I would say Sir David has offered much more
support and encouragement in this relationship.
This has motivated me to contribute to Hong Kong
society in public duties so as to pay tribute to him.
More than an intellectual inspirer, Sir David cares
about our personal growth and aspirations. Before
my visiting student programme at the University of
Oxford, he shared with me his undergraduate life
there, which boosted my confidence and was a great
comfort. Being a mentee is a permanent identity, I
am thankful for the opportunity to have learnt from
this influential and thoughtful master.
There are many mentorship programmes run on campus, one of which
is “CUHK Mentorship Programme” organized by the Office of Student
Affairs. Benefitted from this, Angel Wong (Public Health/ Year 4) is
very keen to share her wonderful experience and fruitful gains.
