Essay wins teen ticket to the UK

PETALING JAYA: Growing up, Kong Yong Sin was a little storyteller enchanted by the tales she read in books and the movies that she watched.

Even to this day, the 15-year-old girl has not lost her passion for the written word, drawing inspiration from the likes of author Neil Gaiman to playwright Lin Manuel-Miranda.

In fact, she was named the runner-up in the senior category of the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) 2023, the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools.

Her triumph meant that she would soon be attending a “Winners’ Week” in the United Kingdom, which will include a special award ceremony hosted by Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace.

It’s no small feat as the competition received a record-breaking 34,924 entries this year.

While a number of awards was given for both the senior (ages 14 to 18) and junior (under 14) categories of the competition, only a winner and a runner-up were named for each category.

The winners in both categories, as well as the junior runner-up, are three students from India.

In her entry, Yong Sin – who is from SMK Tinggi Kluang, Johor – tackled the question “Does age matter?” with a short story titled Observations Made at a Local Kopitiam, 13th of March, 2023.

“I chose the question as its open-endedness presented a variety of angles from which to handle it.

“The setting was inspired by the kopitiam my hometown is famous for, and the structure and flow came from the influence of Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch,” she said in an interview.

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She also spoke of her admiration for Oscar-winning actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh and that she was taken by her speech at the Academy Awards, “so I knew I had to incorporate it into my essay somehow.”

(Yeoh, in her speech for Best Actress, said: “Ladies, don’t ever let anyone tell you you are past your prime.”)

As a first-time entrant, Yong Sin said she did not expect to win an award, let alone one of the top prizes.

She expressed her gratitude to her English language teacher Ahmad Safwan Sulaiman, who introduced her to the competition and encouraged her to give it her best shot.

“Honestly, I’ve never been one to enter competitions such as this, so this is all pretty new to me. Sir Safwan, this is for you,” she said.

Yong Sin, who will undergo an exchange semester in the United States under a scholarship next year, also thanked her grandmother for instilling an interest in the English language in her.

“Still, it is a never-ending journey. I continue to consume a variety of English media to further my proficiency in it.

“To students looking to enhance their English language, do seize every chance to converse in it, whether it’s with native speakers or fellow learners.

“Don’t fear mistakes, as the more you practise, the more comfortable you will become,” said Yong Sin, who is also a participant of The Star’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme.

The QCEC, hosted by the UK-based Royal Commonwealth Society, is open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and below.

Each year, it welcomes participants to write on a theme that stems from the Commonwealth’s values and principles, while at the same time working towards developing key literacy skills and fostering an empathetic and open-minded world view.

This year’s theme was “A Youth-Led Commonwealth,” challenging participants to explore the power young people hold within the global community and to consider how this power can be harnessed to make a meaningful impact in the world.

Applications for the 2024 edition of The Star’s BRATs Young Journalist Programme are now open. For details, go to facebook.com/niebrats