"It's all about confidence" - Interview with Ms. Eva Cheng, '78

It was amid a bustling lunch hour in Central that we awaited the arrival of Eva Cheng, our alumna from the class of 1978 who at the time of interview was Hong Kong's Commissioner for Tourism (Eva has since moved to become the Permanent Secretary for Economic Development).

Within minutes, Eva strolled in and greeted us with a warm smile. In a no-nonsense manner, Eva wasted no time in introducing herself and started off by explaining the nature of her job as Commissioner. Eva joined the Hong Kong Government after graduating from HKU and has been working for the Hong Kong Government ever since. Being a member of the Administrative Officers grade, she had the chance to move around various departments and has found her job to be enjoyable and fulfilling, with a wide range of experience from negotiating tunnel franchises to planning large scale tourism projects.

Our conversation quickly shifted back to our good old school days at DGS. Besides being able to attain a high level of language and other skills, Eva found that the other valuable asset that she was able to acquire from her years of schooling at DGS was the development of self-confidence, which in Eva's words, is something 'intangible but important'. Eva noted that with this important asset in hand, one could face any difficulties in study, work and/or other aspects of life with ease. The power of this especially applies when one has to deal with changes and/or situations which require versatility, persistence and peace of mind.

There are many memorable moments from her happy school days. Eva remembers the moments of terror when handing letter excusing oneself from PE lessons to Miss Williams, from her primary school. She also recollects Mrs. Collier who had been a good role model for her and her classmates especially with her dedication and her commitment to teaching. Eva was also part of the school choir and one of their musicals that DGS produced in her years at school was 'Godspell', which was considered to be very sophisticated then. However, it was nothing like musicals nowadays, which is getting very professional and she is most impressed with 'The DGS Girl', which brought tears to her eyes when she was watching it as it was so touching. This musical reminded her of her days at school and heightened her pride of being a graduate of DGS, a school with long-standing tradition and history.

Eva said she has the blessing of her two daughters continuing the tradition of being educated at DGS.

The advice that Eva would like to share with all of us is that DGS has equipped us to face reality, be confident and always exercise positive thinking to adapt oneself to any situations. As Eva wisely concludes, one should not only be an observer but should also take the lead to get involved, contribute and build up others.

We thank Eva for her time and her sound advice to all of us as we learn a lesson about self-confidence, one of the most valuable attributes of being a DGS girl.

Audrey Chen / Winnie Kong / Eva Lau
Editorial Subcommittee