Superheroes of Leadership

Superheroes of Leadership

When we think of a leader, many times the people who come to mind are Ghandhi, Abraham Lincoln or even Singapore’s very own Founding Father, Mr Lee Kwan Yew. These are great men of their times, each exhibiting courage, wisdom and many praiseworthy qualities.

At Lianhua, while our students aspire to greatness, our brand of leadership is unique in a world that focuses on the glamorous. Instead, very simply, we practise Servant Leadership. Servant Leadership encapsulates the mission of LPS and our vision for our students. Instead of leading by merely directing, our leaders at LPS roll up their sleeves and serve the people around them.

Therefore, our superheroes of Leadership are people who have exhibited qualities of leadership in their daily acts of service to their friends, the school and the community and perhaps inspired others with their passion. Here are some of their stories.

Kartikeya Siva Nithian

Kartikeya is a highly disciplined student who consistently demonstrates self-control, focus, and adherence to rules and routines. As a prefect and class monitor, he led the class well and helped the teachers maintain discipline. He managed his time well, completed tasks responsibly, and maintained a strong work ethic at all times. He was able to lead as a prefect and still ensured that the quality of his work was not compromised. Kartikeya's determination was evident in his pursuit of learning Chinese, a language that is not his mother tongue. His resilience in this was admirable and a great role model to other students. If he encountered any problem, he would not give up and tried his best to look for a solution. Kartikeya was a dependable prefect core team member and class monitor who had proven his reliability and resourcefulness. His respectfulness, resilience, discipline, and collaborative spirit all contributed to his high level of commitment in the pursuit of excellence in many areas.

Khayla Amily Binte Mohamad Khaidir

Besides being a prefect, Khayla was very busy with her studies in her graduating year. However, Khayla willingly took up the roles of a facilitator and young journalist at the library opening without any hesitation. The preparation work was demanding, but with her resilience, she managed it all effectively and did well in her roles, proving that she had the capacity to balance her own studies and service to the school. Not only was Khayla consistently respectful towards teachers and peers, she was also well-respected by her peers in return. She demonstrated this during core team and classroom discussions, where she appreciated and valued opinions and perspectives of others in her team. As the chairperson of Gamelan, she led the members when the instructor was not around. One of the ways in which she helped was by tapping and counting the beats for the members to follow, allowing the practice to continue even in the absence of the instructor. She was also an encouraging leader as she motivates her members by rewarding them with little incentives of treats at the end of the CCA session. She believes in helping others and when she is unable to provide support, she tries to think of alternative solutions to provide assistance. She was dependable and teachers had no qualms tasking her with different responsibilities, trusting that she would be able to complete the task well. Her open-mindedness, proactive nature, and cheerful disposition were able to bring people together effectively and work towards a common goal.

Bernice Chung

Do all leaders need to have a commanding presence or a loud piercing voice to ensure that their followers do what they want them to do? Anybody who has met Bernice would beg to differ. Bernice may be quiet and unassuming, but anybody who has encountered Bernice will be struck by her strength of character and maturity. Even though she is young, Bernice has distinguished herself in many areas—be it CCA, academics or her behaviour. Her work is neat and polished, even when it is completed in class. Bernice is always self-disciplined and composed. Her peers look up to her because when she speaks, even though it is gently, it is with a quiet confidence, yet her speech is devoid of any arrogance. She leads discussions and makes sure that everyone has a voice, before leading the team to decide on a course of action. Hence, her team members enjoy her leadership and is willing to go along with her. Besides leading in the classroom, Bernice leads by serving others. She has volunteered in Project Smile with her parents and hopes that the school will continue with the programme, as she hopes to have more opportunities to bring smiles to the people in her community.

Suh Bogwang

Bogwang is the captain of our school’s Senior Boys Volleyball team, which isn’t easy when you consider the fact that he is easily one of the shortest boys in the team. Despite his stature, Bogwang more than makes up for it through his indomitable spirit and quest for excellence. When he first started his journey with volleyball, he wasn’t good at it and often needed others’ help. However, he improved slowly but surely, and in the process, learnt resilience and honed his skills at volleyball. Perhaps what truly sets Bogwang apart is his attitude towards winning and losing, which has been transmitted to his teammates through his leadership by example. In his own words, “When my team competed in the soft volleyball tournament against 10 schools in 2019, our team came in first place! I was also proud of our achievement. However, I also realised that volleyball was not all about winning. We also learnt to display good sportsmanship when we lost a match and to cooperate well with my team members. Through all these, our team grew stronger mentally and physically.” However, Bogwang’s care for his teammates goes beyond just volleyball. Some of his friends were lagging behind in Mathematics, and Bogwang, who is passionate about Mathematics, lent a helping hand and encouraged them to do well in their studies. Bogwang was truly a servant leader!