 |
| Photo Credit: The English Schools Foundation |
Our General Manager, Keon gave an inspiring closing speech at the 2018 ESF Chairman's Awards for Excellence. This annual event recognises and celebrates the outstanding performances 228 ESF graduates.
In his speech, Keon shares about how we are all powerful creative storytellers, and how we can apply it into our daily lives. Read the full speech below!
Good evening everyone.
Congratulations to all the award recipients at today’s ceremony. It is
official. You are all excellent! You have an official document that says you
have achieved excellence. You are recognised for your hard work and
achievements in your academic studies, your outstanding leadership, commitment
and contributions to others by your community, the ESF community, by your
teachers and by the chairman of the ESF.
This is like one of those moments
that’s in the end of Hollywood films, like the end of the early Harry Potter
movies or high school movies where they throw their hats in the air. If there
is a way to “win” at studying at school, you’ve done it. You won at being a
student at school and your amazing accomplishments will be liked and shared on
your parents’ facebook pages. Your parents are going to force you to smile and
they will take a hundred photos of you walking on stage and accept your award.
They’ve been doing it all their lives. That’s what parents do. That’s what I do
to my children.
That’s because your parents are
storytellers. They have a story and its about you. Their story is about a child
who is capable of so many things, a child who is able to slay dragons and still
get 100% in a math test. A child whose future holds great potential and should
be given every advanced tool, every scrap of knowledge, every opportunity to
face the future with as much wisdom, preparation and love as possible.
 |
| Graduates from King George V School Photo Credit: The English Schools Foundation |
As part of their story about you
seizing those opportunities, they sent you to exceptional schools that are part
of the ESF, an organisation that is committed to excellence for their students
and families. I know this personally as an ESF alumni myself, a graduate of
this very school and I know how supportive the teachers are, how much I have
gained from my time here. And its all due to the story my parents had about me
and the sacrifices they made to make sure everything was on track.
I’m sure you have done this
already or have at least thought about it but if you haven’t told your parents
thank you yet for their story of you, take a moment afterwards and do so. Leave
a comment on their facebook post. Or better yet, just tell them in person.
Now, your parents are not the only
storytellers. You are a creative storyteller. By ‘creative storyteller’ I don’t
mean an artist or an actor or a writer. This is not a recruitment drive for the
arts industry. This is about being a creative storyteller of your life and your
work and what impact you have on the world.
You have reached excellence in
different fields, different areas, you have collected skills, knowledge and
awards along the way. It is up to you to take a step back and say what this all
means. What do all these life experiences and acknowledgement say about you,
what do you want it to help you say about the world?
My life is for love, creativity
and empowerment. That is the realisation I had about what I wanted to bring to
my life, family and community. I do this by teaching my students drama skills,
to be expressive, creative and confident. I do this by writing stories for
families that are about going beyond expectations and learning to be stand up
for yourself and others.
Now you might be considering to be
a doctor or lawyer or an architect and you would still be a creative
storyteller. Doctors are storytellers who read mysteries of the human body and
know how to solve them. Lawyers are storytellers who argue with facts and
evidence to help determine what we agree together as a society about the laws
that govern us. Architects are storytellers who create beauty and comfort for
others in different spaces, different environments. You are a creative
storyteller. And you have a head start, because you have attained excellence in
your fields. You can be excellent creative storytellers.
 |
| Photo Credit: The English Schools Foundation |
Many of you know this. Many of you
are already telling stories to help us protect our earth and stand up for
others. You have received recognition for leadership and for upholding values
of compassion and service to others. You are already telling stories that are
impacting not just your community, but this planet. Your passion, your
concerns, your commitments are already telling us a story about who you are and
what you bring to the world.
I wanted to talk about this
because I believe as graduates of 2018, it is important that you look to the
next chapter in your life with strong minds, true hearts and a big, clear, loud
voice. A voice that is authentic and in touch with the stories you deem worth
telling and worth actioning.
I have three quick final things to
say about being a creative storyteller.
One. The stories you can tell are
infinite. If you are ever stuck or the story is not going the way you want it
to, remember that it is just a story. Tell another one. Tell a different one.
Tell different stories for different projects or better yet, tell a story that
is bigger than you. The possibilities are infinite.
Two. The stories are powered by
action and authenticity. The action part, I assume you are all good at because
otherwise you would not be getting recognition today for your work. Stories
have power when what you say will happen does happen. Stories also have power
when you know its true and others recognise its true.
Three. Be generous in your stories
about others. There are many who have disempowering stories about themselves,
who were told that they are not capable of achieving anything. There are many of
you who are already advocates for others less fortunate in society and are
helping them find a stronger voice. I think that’s where things can really
shift and magic can happen.
This is the end of my story about
what a creative storyteller is. Congratulations to all of you and have a great
night!
 |
Faust's General Manager, Keon Lee at the 2018 ESF Chairman's Awards for Excellence
Photo Credit: The English Schools Foundation |
Comments
Post a Comment