NYAA Gold Award Interview - Edwin Fu

Today was my National Youth Achievement Award (Gold) Interview. National Youth Achievement Award involves youths between the ages of 14 to 25 years undertaking a variety of voluntary and challenging activities in each of four areas, namely Service, Adventurous Journey, Skills and Physical Recreation. In addition, it is required to organise a Residential Project at the Gold level. The criteria for an Award are those of self-improvement and effort as participants are judged on personal achievement and individual capabilities.

The interview was very casual. It was a one-to-one interview and I ended up explaining briefly each of the section activities I undertook. I was asked about National Service and to relate, in my opinion, the most difficult section attempted (it was the Residential Project for me). This probably took up at most 10 minutes. The interviewer then requested for me to upload some of the pictures from my NYAA experience when I get back for the purposes of the Award Ceremony to be held on the 3rd of October. The interviewer talked briefly about the future plans of the Gold Award Holders Association (GAHA) and on the Award Ceremony itself.

I started the NYAA (Gold) scheme in the middle of JC1 year (you know, the time when academic pace starts to pick up...) and completed the project in the middle of the next year in 2007. I had previously completed NYAA at the silver level in secondary school, so NYAA (Gold) was a progressive step in a familiar direction. For my NYAA (Gold) scheme, I gave tuition at Henderson Student Care Centre for Service, embarked on a 4-day exploration expedition for Adventurous Journey, organised a large-scale Sports Day Event for wheelchair-bound participants for Residential Project, learnt cooking for Skills, and went cycling for Physical Recreation. It was certainly a challenging experience in retrospect, especially in concurrence with academic demands for GCE A Level preparations.

NYAA (Gold) required a writeup on how I have benefited from participating in the NYAA Scheme (less than 500 words); I tried to express from the perspective of my experiences how that participation made a difference in my life as follows (I hope this is helpful for those tasked with the same):

You are only young once, and once is enough to make a difference.

I think what makes NYAA so successful and meaningful is the central theme of ownership. The NYAA scheme empowered me to chart my journey of self-discovery. At the age of uncertainty, I learnt to make a positive social change, to recognize and water the seeds of my passions, and to seek the avenues of self-development by tapping on my community. I acquired skills and developed personal qualities of independence, accountability, perseverance, self-confidence, compassion and resourcefulness. NYAA highlighted these opportunities of growth that lied within my reach, and challenged me to step out of my comfort zone to embrace them. The structured requirements of the NYAA scheme provide clear achievement goals that emphasize different learning experiences, skills and personal qualities. I might not have ventured to make those positive changes in my life and others’ if there was no NYAA scheme to help frame my experience. Perhaps because of the guidelines, I was able to build upon the general themes of the different sections – residential project, service, adventurous journey, skills and physical recreation – to think originally about how I wanted to mould my NYAA experience to fit my personal goals, to maximise learning. Ultimately, I got to do what I loved and that made the experience personal and meaningful.

More specifically, I carried from the experience a greater love for community involvement and voluntary service for social causes that I nurtured from my NYAA (Silver) days. Before then, community service used to hold little meaning for me. I participated without reflection over what I had achieved. In time, the joy my actions brought to others impressed upon me the value and meaning of my contributions. I started to see voids in society where assistance can be rendered, where my role as an agent of change is needed. NYAA challenged me to organise a successful large-scale residential project, and the experience, its accompanying obstacles and setbacks, serves to equip me with the skills and confidence necessary to excel in future projects. Volunteering can be an immensely rewarding experience; the eager smile of the children I tutored, the laughter of the handicapped participants having fun, gave me true satisfaction. Through the service experience, I grow more appreciative of all that I have.

More that just learning new activities and skills, this experience has been a beneficial baptism by fire; my struggle led me to improve and add to my strengths and overcome my shortcomings. As I logged my involvements and reflections in the Award Diary, I found that I have progressively matured through the experience. Youth is no longer an excuse for apathy; I recognise that I can truly make a difference. The completion of the award is a commendation to a golden experience, in struggle and joy both.

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