6 minute read
MORE THAN A PERFECT SCORE
Mody Yim
Thea Guest (Je’77)
The achievement of a perfect IB score of 45 (equating to an ATAR of 99.95) was a proud moment for Geelong Grammar School’s 2021 dux, Mody Yim (FB’21), but it wasn’t the proudest moment of his schooldays, overall. ‘It is more holistic’, says Mody. ‘I have been trying to balance academics, music, sport and performing arts, I just do a bit of everything. That is my proudest achievement. I have always tried not to be too one-sided.’
Mody came to Australia from Hong Kong in Year 8 on a scholarship sponsored by the Lee Hysan Foundation, a private family foundation established in 1973 which supports a variety of meaningful and impactful initiatives in Hong Kong. Education is one area of focus, and since 2013 the Foundation has supported seven scholars to receive an education at GGS. Roland Wu (P’93), who works with the Lee Hysan Foundation to select scholarship recipients, explained that GGS’s focus on holistic education is extremely important. ‘For Mody and every other Lee Hysan scholar, one thing they take away from school deeply in their heart is that an academic school report is not everything. If Mody had remained in Hong Kong, I think his academic result would represent him. But at GGS I saw him jumping into school life – he was a stage manager for one of the school musicals, he constantly spoke about mates in Francis Brown House, he really cherished the friendships, and he really loved the boarding school environment.’
Mody understands full well that his scholarship made the difference between possibly not leaving Hong Kong until after graduation from university, and having a whole new world opened to him at the tender age of 13. ‘Without this scholarship, I would not have even dreamed of going to Australia for a vacation, let alone studying here’, reflected Mody. ‘Here I am now, possibly staying for the next seven years or more while I finish my degree.’ With incredible generosity, the Lee Hysan Foundation is also supporting Mody’s university studies. He has embarked on a three-year Bachelor of Biomedicine degree at the University of Melbourne and will then proceed to the four-year medical degree course. ‘I wanted to become a doctor as early as I can remember. It is one of my first memories. I suppose it’s because I am the type of person who likes to know how everything works – and what’s more complex than a human body?’
No doubt, the long years of study before Dr Yim takes up his stethoscope will not be without their challenges, but Mody is prepared for that. ‘Every year brings a different challenge. It’s situational. I found the Timbertop marathon incredibly challenging at the time, but sitting here and looking back, I think – was it that challenging? The feeling diminishes with time. The key takeaway from Timbertop is that attitude of buying into something even though it is not something you might necessarily enjoy. If it is good for you, you give it a red-hot go. That still rings true to this day with the things I do.’
When he arrived in Australia in 2017, Mody was fortunate not to experience homesickness – ‘I’ve always been fairly independent!’ – but certainly there were challenges in adapting to a new culture. His Australian guardian, Susie Officer (Potter, Je’83), remembered that Mody ‘got by through sheer determination — he was very reserved and shy, and incredibly disciplined. At first, he didn’t understand nuances in conversation, but his sense of humour developed enormously over time.’ Mody was embraced into the Officer family, who became his guardians having no idea that a pandemic was on the horizon, and that Mody would in fact spend two years living with them – enough time to earn his learner’s permit by driving around in their paddocks, and do homely things like learning to make pizza dough. Roland is certain that ‘the best thing that ever happened to Mody was Covid, because he was stuck with the Officers. The whole family – Susie, Bruce (M’78) and their children, Amy (Yr12 Fr) and Thomas (Fr’20), and niece Emma Doak (Fr’19) – did an amazing job. They changed Mody’s life. I wondered at first if he would have a tough time at school, but he did very well. I give most of that credit to the Officers. They are loving and caring, and I think Mody has learned a lot from them.’
Mody agrees. ‘They are fantastic. Because of the pandemic we built a much stronger relationship together. I got to learn more about the Australian culture. That is when I got into footy. I follow the Blues! They helped me a lot. I learned how to become a better person because of them.’ This homestay experience, partnered with living in a boarding house when he was not staying with the Officers, has been particularly beneficial for Mody now that he is living in a residential college. ‘In a boarding house you get to see many diverse cultures. I think it makes you more understanding and more open-minded about the way you think, and the way you approach things.’
The experience of living through the pandemic also taught Mody that, sometimes, spontaneity is a good thing. ‘There are just so many events in life that can put you off track. I learned not to fix my mind to only one thing because life circumstances can change at any time.’ Luckily, GGS has equipped him well to be adaptable, which Mody attributes to his education beyond the classroom. ‘It is much more about how to communicate with others, how to work with others or as a group, or how to lead a group. Qualities like this I have found to be beneficial. I appreciate this more and more every day. I can see the importance of it, and I can see how not everybody acquires this skill and I think being at GGS has really helped me with that.’
Mody doesn’t know where his medical degree will take him, but he does know one thing for sure: ‘I will give back to the Hong Kong community’. In sponsoring young people from Hong Kong to study overseas, this is exactly the outcome that the Lee Hysan Foundation hopes to achieve. Whatever path he chooses, Roland and Susie are certain that his Australian experience will be of enormous benefit to Mody in the years ahead, and that great things lie in store for him. ‘He is destined to do something of note, it’s just the way his brain works’, said Susie. ‘If there’s a problem, he’s got to solve it. He’s incredible.’
Susie Officer (Potter) (Je’83)
