For Malaysian teenagers Cheryl Chow and Teng Yee Shean it was a Malaysia Day to remember as they received word that their essays had emerged as a finalist in the 10th edition of The New York Times Asia-Pacific Writing Competition 2019.
The two Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School students were part of five aspiring Malaysian writers to obtain honours in the highly prestigious international competition.
Their astounding achievement is another reason to celebrate during this patriotic period as it represents another notch in Malaysia’s belt in the global map of young creative writing.
Cheryl Chow, age 16, and Teng Yee Shean age 17 were overjoyed to learn that their work had secured them a spot amongst the 32 finalists, competing against a record high number of entries, 1,200 from 24 countries.
They each painted a vivid picture of what they felt the world would look like in 30 years’ time, in line with the competition topic of Our World: 2050.
“When I was younger, I remember how much I loved heading to the bookstore, being in the reading corner, engrossed in a book. Slowly, over the years, I cultivated a passion and love for writing. I was excited to participate in this writing competition and even more so, to learn that my piece was selected, and I got chosen as one of the finalists. This is a truly an accomplishment for me and I can’t wait for more opportunities” said Yee Shean from Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School.
Cheryl and Yee Shean were amongst 70 Beaconhouse students who tried their hand for the very first time at this creative writing competition.
Both students will now have their written pieces – ‘Who Is the Future for, You or Me?’ – Cheryl and ‘The Earth Is in Our Hands’ – Yee Shean, printed out in The New York Times booklet that will be distributed internationally and made available digitally.
“When I entered the competition, originally it was just because I loved the topic and of course the New York Times is so recognised. I treated it as just an outlet to express my thoughts and myself on a topic I cared deeply about. But now being selected as one of the finalists amongst over a thousand other participants is truly unexpected and exciting,” said Cheryl Chow from Beaconhouse Sri Inai International School.
This isn’t Cheryl’s first time making a name for herself and the country on an academic stage.
Last year, Cheryl proved that her flair for writing was matched equally by her knack for numbers when she was crowned the overall top participant at the prestigious Mangahigh East Asia Maths Ninja Challenge 2019 beating out over 14,000 students from Japan, China, Korea, Singapore and across Asia.
Teng Yee Shean was recognised earlier this year when Cambridge Assessment International Education awarded her the Top in Malaysia award for IGCSE Business Studies.
Our World: 2050 challenged young writers to draft a 500-word essay sharing how the current young generation can help shape the future and how that world would look like 30 years on.
With a growing spotlight on bright young minds as the leaders of tomorrow and the threat of a global pandemic, a unique perspective on the world’s future seemed a perfect fit.
Cheryl’s ‘Who Is the Future for, You or Me?’ questions the benefits of rampant urbanisation and development and contrasts this with other societal and environmental issues faced by the citizens of planet earth.
Meanwhile, Yee Shean’s ‘The Earth Is in Our Hands’ places the spotlight firmly on human greed and exploitation of resources and the horrendous impact it has had on the planet and concludes with a battle cry to make change happen now.
Sharing in the excitement, Nicki Coombs, Executive Principal at Beaconhouse Sri Inai said, “This is our first time participating in this competition and it is truly outstanding to have two of our beloved students emerge as finalists. The competition was incredibly stiff with over 1,200 entries from across the Asia Pacific. At Beaconhouse, we are deeply invested in supporting all our children’s passions.”
“The great performance by the children is a testament to our holistic and innovative teaching approach and is just the latest in a long series of exciting achievements by our Beaconhouse students. We are truly proud of Cheryl and Yee Shean,” she added.
The New York Times Asia-Pacific Writing Competition has been running since 2009 to encourage students to become more informed and globally minded about important issues in the Asia Pacific region and around the world as well as to inculcate the habit of reading and writing.
