The New York Yee Fong Toy Association scholarship award ceremony was held on Sunday, August 14^th. The event started at 12:00 noon with the traditional ancestor worship at the Association’s office and continued at 1:00pm at the Consolidated Chinese Benevolent Association’s auditorium at 62 Mott St. The room was quickly filled to nearly 300 students, parents and family. Kennie, our MC, introduced our honored guest from the Ma and Tse Associations, our Eastern Grand President Peter Yee, Advisor Andy Yu, President Shu Chan Yu, Vice President Kenneth Yee, and our special guest speaker Joseph Yee, M.D. After all the formalities, our speakers addressed the group with one theme in common, that determination, realistic goals and team work are keys to one’s success.

Peter started first by sharing with us some stories, thoughts and wishes. He described to us his experience in Detroit. There the award ceremony was held in the park. All the scholarship applicants got there individually with their report cards. If they meet the grades, they got the scholarship. It was that simple. He also spoke about a wish he had on his birthday. He told his grandchildren that he wishes for a good report card rather than a million dollars. For a student a “GOOD REPORT CARD” is more a realistic goal than a million dollars. He concluded by wishing every student do well and gets a “GOOD REPORT CARD”.

Shu Chan spoke next, congratulating all our scholarship winners for a job well done. He mentioned this year there were 115 award winners with over $10,000 given out. He encouraged them to continue their good work and hoped to see them next year.

Our next speaker was Dr. Joseph Yee. He is a doctor in radiology, associate professor of radiology at NYU School of Medicine and the Medical Director of the NYU Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program in the School of Continuing Education and Professional Studies at NYU. He is also the son of Yee Lai Koon, who is 95 years old and a long time member. Dr. Yee shared with us some of his life experiences. Although he spent ¼ century in school to get his medical license, he feels he’s still a student. He still learns from his students as well as his children. He continued by saying “the goal of a good education is to make you a knowledgeable individual with a moral background to be a productive member to the community”. He gave some examples of Chinese people, like I.M. Pei, Yo Yo Ma, and Chien-Ming Wang who have excelled in their skills. One day there could be a Yee baseball player. Noting that lawyers, engineers, doctors and many other professions are all important, Dr. Yee concluded that no matter what cap you wear, it is just as important being a team player.

After the presentation of awards to all our winners, our big scholarship winner Calvin Yu addressed the audience. He is the son of last year’s guest speaker, Yun Yu. Not only does he know his ABC, he’s an American Born Chinese. He began his speech in Cantonese and finished in English. He was thankful for his parents teaching him Chinese. Growing up he realized how important it is to know Chinese. He told us how he managed to continue to learn Chinese and excel in Stuyvesant HS, one of the top schools in New York City. He emphasized time management was the key to his success in school.

Congratulations to Calvin, all the scholarship winners and their parents for a job well done and continued success. We would like to thank Peter, Dr. Joseph Yee and all the volunteers for their time and efforts in making this event special. Also, thanks to Kennie for doing such an excellent job as MC.