Thirty-five-year-old secondary school teacher Wong Ka-chun (Max) is also a registered social worker and a senior inspector of the Auxiliary Police involved in policing work for 14 years. Committed to helping others and serving the society, Max has won many awards, which include being one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 2017 and among the Ten Most “Exquisite” Teachers elected by the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers in September this year. However, he risked becoming a youth-at-risk in his school days.

“Coming from a grass-roots family, I liked sports and didn’t enjoy studying since my childhood. I often lingered on the playground to make friends with malicious guys. Fortunately, a teacher noticed my problem and arranged for me to join the school team for training. Since then, I devoted myself to sports and stayed away from bad friends.”

Max did not get good results in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination as he spent most of his time on sports and neglected his study. The embarrassing situations in which his family members accompanied him to ask for admission at various schools prompted him to make the promise that he would work hard if he had the chance to further his study. After eventually taking the matriculation programme at Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College, during which he studied diligently and made much improvement academically, he was successfully admitted to the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Physical Education and Recreation Management at Hong Kong Baptist University.

With an active character and great interest in the work of disciplined services, Max joined the Force in 2008 under the Auxiliary Undergraduate Scheme. “Working as an Auxiliary Police Officer gave me the opportunity to understand different aspects of the society and strengthened my intention to serve the society.” He is grateful to his teachers and mentors of the past years for their persistent efforts to guide him back to the right path of life. Therefore, he concurrently pursued a diploma in education during his undergraduate study. Since his graduation, Max has been working as a full-time teacher and serving as an Auxiliary Police Officer in his spare time to serve the society.

In 2012, Max received an invitation from a teacher at his alma mater, Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College, asking him to come back and teach there. Despite the fact that over 90 per cent of the students there were South Asians, Max still decided to return to his alma mater to take up the teaching post and help South Asian students integrate into society.

As a teacher of physical education, Max makes reference to his own experience to cultivate among the students the spirit of perseverance, self-confidence and morality with sports. Through different activities, such as leading students to participate in competitions at other schools, organising volunteer groups to sell flags and visiting homes for the aged, he lets the others understand South Asians and reduce social prejudice against them.

His status as an Auxiliary Police Officer also helps Max promote law-abiding awareness among students. “As students are not interested in the traditional mode of moral instructions, I share real cases to help them understand the serious consequences for breaching the law.” He especially arranges for some students to join the Junior Police Call Leader Corps Programme for strengthening their discipline and deepening their understanding of police work. He will encourage them to join the Force after graduation.

Max regards helping others as his own duty. Insisting on furthering his studies at his spare time, he has completed the Master of Social Work programme. He will keep serving the society in his multiple capacities to arouse the public’s attention and support to the grassroots.