Have fun have fun and yesIt's fun school. That's why I come back again It's a
important important chapter in my life
Yes
Jackson Wang the kpop celebrity that is currently gaining phenomenal success
If you turn on the TV, you're bound to see him on one of the channels
With his busy schedule, there's almost some things that he has to do every single day
Being an international celebrity and also means that he has to travel to countless places on a regular basis
including Korea, China
Thailand and the US
Although he has traveled to many places
He has not forgotten his roots Hong Kong in the one place that he keeps dear to his heart AIS
Jackson was an AIS student for six years from a fourth grade elementary school student to an 11th grader high school junior in
In this particular school. He has made many memories with his community, especially his friends classmates and teachers
How was Jackson like in school?
What type of student was he?
Jackson was
Very humorous. He had a pretty big personality. He was pretty outgoing
he was
Able to you know communicate well with lots of people he was yeah
He was I wouldn't necessarily he was the strongest academically, but he was definitely a social
strong student that way he could communicate well with people
Jackson as a student was very caring and always had a great smile charismatic personality and someone that
Students really took really enjoyed being around and was well-liked
Jackson had a great
ability to be able to be friends with others and
We knew that Jackson was going places. He even early on he's a very cheerful
Student active. Yeah, and
Friendly lots of friends. Yeah
He was fun-loving he was a
Student that was definitely a strong athlete knew what he wanted
And pursued his dreams and
Sort of got by with his studies and he was he was doing well and
His school stuff but it wasn't ever gonna be top of the class. He was a student
That was very keen on his own dreams and pursuing them and doing well sports
And in those kind of areas, he was outstanding
As an AS alumni Jackson Wang came back to visit after seven years on the 18th of August
2018
He spent time walking around the campus and chatting with his teachers
He had a conversation about how he felt when he had to leave everything behind and start a new life in Korea
He was afraid nervous and mostly excited
but how that the teachers feel about this decision initially
Were you shocked when he said he was going to audition in Korea
Yeah, we were all shocked. Actually. We were not expecting that. Yeah to come along so very surprised
Yeah, big surprised that he actually left us this one more year to go before he graduated
Well, I'm very skeptical about his decision of leaving
College I mean high school before going to college and to do something else
It's like he should have fulfilled what was supposed to be as a basic education before he can do something
So well, I'm not looking forward to what he's doing. You know when you leave us here
when his decision came about
Auditioning for kpop. It came with a great surprise. No doubt
I think we were all amazed at such a great opportunity for him and we wondered
Particularly, I wondered about his education and wanted him to be able to know whether they would provide
Him opportunities to finish high school and to go through and even have the options of going to college
Once I knew that that was possible
I was very happy to be able to tell Jackson and encouraged Jackson to go for his audition and the follows passion
yeah, it was I
Remember, I remember it. Well, I can still visualize myself
Having a sit-down meeting with Jackson and his parents. He'd sent me an email saying mr. wing
I need to arrange a meeting to chat
It sounded important. So I said what's what's it to do and he said its to do in my future and i thought oh dear what's going on?
And we talked and he told me that he had an opportunity to go into
music and dancing industry and
he was gonna leave and this was in February of 2011 and
He was still in grade 11, so he still had another year and a bit to go. He wanted to leave that summer
And so I said to him are you sure you're making the right choice? It's a very competitive industry
i think it's a big risk Jackson
Unfortunately, he didn't listen to me
Look at him now. I remember the conversation while his parents were anxious, but they supported him
And in the end at the end I did see he was determined to do it
So I was saying look if anyone can do this probably it could be you Jackson because you are absolutely determined to achieve your goal
But I was surprised because at the time he was dreaming about going to London in the Olympics and 2012
He was gonna be top athlete with fencing
So he was suddenly changing paths and it all happened quite fast. So yeah, it was a surprise.
i was very shocked and the main reason why was was because
Jackson was a very successful fencer and he was an Olympian level fencer and he competed at asian games and had done very well there
he was ranked at the time in the Junior Olympics as fifth in the world for Saber and
I remember thinking he was at he was due to go the following year to the Olympics in London
And I remember having a conversation with him saying you know you are you really sure you want to do this?
It's very hard to make it as an Olympian, you know
Not very many people get to do that and it's something you'll be it's a lifelong ambition and you you are a good fencer
and you've got a good chance of doing well
So I was kind of shocked I and I thought it was a bit a bit of a risk personally, you know
I thought he would have done it after
He became a fencer
Um I heard that he had a fencing club,
Do you want to say something about that
Yeah, he did have a fencing Club and it was something that he set up he
Spoke to mr. Wing from what I understand prior to moving up to secondary school
And he was saying he wanted to do fencing so he set that up
Yeah, and he got quite a few students involved in it
And it was it was something that he got going and it worked while he was here
But there was no one who took it on after he left. Yeah. Yeah Jackson came to me
early in his time in high school
and he said he wanted to set up a club and he wanted to run a fencing club, but
Fencing is tricky because it requires a lot of specialized equipment
And I guess it's quite a specialized for and not many people have ever done before so who was really gonna be interested in this?
So I challenged him quite a lot and you came back to me and he managed to get stuff from the Hong Kong
Fencing Association. He got a few of his friends who were keen to join as well
So it was clearly a membership potential
It was clearly a club that was gonna run and we had to teach them as gonna vice and it was fabulous
We're off the ground
But I said to him in Jackson. Why do you think this is gonna be popular?
why should we do this and we actually had a fencing club playing against other schools and things like that and he said
You know what? I'll get people to come mr. Wing
Tell them it will help them become a good dancer
and I think that is quite funny when you look back on it because obviously at that stage where he was 14 15 16
Jackson was all about fencing but he knew that
fencing was going to help him to get skills that were going to be really important socially or
Potentially for his future in entertainment which is what ended up happening. He's a pretty good movie on the dance floor
Maybe that fencing paid dividends
So it was just uh at the end of school one day and he was playing basketball and
This media company was on campus and saw him move
And thought he stops he got some moves and they went up to him and said have you ever thought about a career in?
dancing and music maybe
It was a bit of a surprise and they asked him to try out at one of their auditions
He went along and he was signed up
and that launched his opportunity to go to Korea train and develop his career as it is today and get into got7 so
He was pointing out the very spot where it happened, which is a popular spot amongst high school students still today
Playing basketball or near the lockers. You never know
It could happen to you. I
Think it is the right decision now
Obviously he went and did it and actually having had a conversation with him when he was in on the weekend
What I didn't realize at the time was was that he had an opportunity and it was a limited time opportunity
I sort of knew that but it was really clear on the weekend when he came in there
He couldn't afford to wait until after the Olympics and it was something he was passionate and about and he really wanted to do so
Yeah, it was the right decision. He's obviously been very successful. He's doing incredibly well and
he's obviously got a bright future and he set himself a lot of goals and targets and things he still wants to do and he's
Enjoying it. That's the main thing I got from when I spoke to him on the weekend. He's enjoying it
He's very busy, but it's an enjoyable busy. So I think yeah, it is definitely the right decision now, yeah
I was very happy to see Jackson succeed a few years later
He came back to the school and thanked me for encouraging him and being one of the few people that really demonstrated
support at that time
but definitely
Jackson was one that really had a strong desire to do this for himself, and he made these things happen and
Yet it was great to be able to see that then and continue today
So definitely, I think that it's been the right decision for him
You can find seeing how much joy he's had in the music profession. And how much happened is he's experienced since he's left our school
And we all see the young young man that he is. Today's is in tribute for his
Dedication to his craft and becoming a great musician musician and an entertainer
I'm very happy to know that Jackson's been a success well after looking at what he has done his success
I think he chooses the right path and he has fulfilled his dreams and chasing his dreams to be
One of the Entertainer I think yeah, this is the right choice for him. I'm happy for him
yeah, he's he's got a
Very likeable personality and people enjoy watching him and that has helped him in
His band to be a fun character and it's why I think he's popular on social media
YouTube
and
He is clearly very successful. So he's got a good bright future ahead of him
And I was pleased to see I think he is remaining
Rounded he's he's still someone who knows where he came from and hasn't forgotten
His family and his people around him and I think that's an important step wherever you go in life
You've you need you need good foundations and hold on to that run think you can do it yourself
Recognize the family and the friends around you and they're always the same people. You're still the same person
You're probably if you can keep that together, you're more likely to
To be able to cope with whatever
fame brings you
Yeah, I think Jackson is an interesting one to
Talk about he he's obviously like I said, he is a very determined young man
and I think sometimes that's very hard to see it's really interesting knowing Jackson from as a
student and
Seeing the public persona. I
Think a lot of people don't see the hard work that's gone on behind the scenes
There is an incredible amount of hard work. These had to put him he works incredibly hard
He's doing incredibly long hours. One of the things he was saying to me was
To sleep a lot of the time he's sleeping when he's flying to new destinations. He's sleeping on the play
He's not getting much sleep because when he turns up at a venue he's got to do
You know promotion work he's got to do, you know venues he's got to do this. He's got a practice
He's got to go to him. He's got to eat right he's got to do this. He's got to do that
So there's an awful lot that's going on in his life
And I think you can do that if you have that determination
in place to do it and that Drive and I think that's the key thing that people need to understand is that
The the image you see on TV and the image. You see that doesn't show the hard work he puts in
He puts an incredible amount of hard work into what he's doing. He is he is a
very easy person to
communicate with he's
Confident and
He just wants to have fun and that's what I see when he's in front of the camera
and you saw when we work with him the other day now I
said to him about all the dancing that he does and all the flips and I said
I just want to see the flip and so straightaway. He he wanted to perform the flip and that's him
He he doesn't pull back he will
Entertain and that's why he's successful
Yeah, I was speaking to Jackson on the weekend about this and and what are the key things he says and I agree with him
on this completely and I know is this when I was away that when I left last year was
The community here looks after each other
They there are things that happen in this core that if I worked in other schools and the schools
I've worked in those students would be laughed at and
But here and that they don't do that the community looks after people. It's a very loving environment and it's a very caring environment
And that I think is important because what as Jackson was saying on the weekend
it helps shape him as a person of who he is and
What are the things I did when I when he was in on the weekend was was I had a conversation with?
his makeup artist that he's had for the last year and I said
Ah, does he treat you right and he wasn't there at the time and she said yes, he's very good to me
And I said good because that's what we wanted from our students. You know, if you look at
What we we have on the emblem for the school, you know
There's a good part there and and he has got those those pieces in place
So I think yes the school did help him to you know to get those
You know words that are on that emblem in place and using them on a regular basis. Yeah, I think he has a good
Education here. Yeah, which moats his character and its personality
All right, so he would be a good person a better person even though he's in an entertainment scene. The thing is
Besides being providing a basic education for Hong Kong students and other students from the world
apart from the
conventional academic path students
Could also move on all right to succeed in excel in other areas. And Jackson is a very good example that we have produced
yeah, I
Mean, it doesn't mean that he must have gone through a college to finish tertiary education, then it could be a successful
Personality, I think Justin prove it to us. Yeah eras could produce something someone like Jackson even though he didn't finish his college
Education, but he's successful. He made it
This is what I asked to do for other students being educated in their eyes. I didn't given him a very good base
Yeah for what he could do now in in the media. Yeah as an entertainer I think a is has a
Small close-knit family feel to it and it's that
supportive
environment that nurtures and
Enables students to feel comfortable here to be themselves
To
Find who they want to be and to grow and develop as young adolescents and adults
And I think a safe
School a safe environment where people can take risks and not feel
Too embarrassed as fundamental as a teenager. It's a tough time high school can be a tough time
I think AIS gives people a chance to take risks and
find themselves and
Jackson did the other day. He came back and he was telling us you know
I don't need to come back to AIS and people ask me
Why do I throw out the AIS uniform when I'm in my concerts? And and he does this?
He says it's because I grew up here. I felt at home here. This is like family. I felt cared for
I think those are important qualities our name they are
characteristics that still span through today to
kind of program AIS provides for students
I
Just keep doing what he's doing he's doing very well he's you know, he's been highly successful
Look out for himself a little bit
You know, which he's doing?
I think he's got his head in the right place treat the people who you work with well because they will look after you and
You know just keep doing what you want to do and keep doing what you enjoy and if it's not enjoyable then
You know move on find something else to do you you you can do that. You've got that determination to do that
I've been very happy to be a follow his success to see the great things that he's accomplished and
Tour in the world. It's quite a thrill and
I would tell him to continue to be true to his morals and values and and show and continue to show integrity
And all that he does and to remember those who care about him
beyond Fame and and
That his parents and those like myself really care about him and he can always reach out to me
In friendship, and I'm always happy to be his friend
So I'm grateful to see Jackson do so do outstandingly well and I wish him the very best go ahead and do us proud
yeah, keep continued to do what you are doing and I think
You're good success here for us as an example, especially for aii students
Just follow what your heart things about angels do whatever you think you believe you can yeah, nothing is impossible
Congratulations, very very impressed very proud of the success that he is achieving
we wish him all the best as his career develops and
Thank you for remembering us coming back continue to do so we heard whenever you're in Hong Kong you will come back
Maybe the AIS students will get to see a special performance from Jackson one day
Students in AAS I
Feel like
Just go after your dream might be great
to go after what you want to do in life and
be sure to get your academics first get your education first and
Turn on on on the stuff that you want to do in life and then never regret
It's that this is a thing when you're 80 years old
Don't look back in your life and be like, oh I could have done this
I could have done that make sure there's no regret and just keep fighting
Be hungry at what you want every bit of it guys
This school in fact, I mean
Education is important, but I feel like
maybe I'm not in a position to teach anybody or for me to even say anything, but I
feel like education is important, but make sure you have one and
and high school
When you don't know something
Like don't don't don't feel like left out because I don't know like to me a s if you defeat if you're in this school
There's no way that he can be met down like everyone's
interacting that each other like like on another level so
Yeah, just have fun in high school, which be probably better than College
Have fun head don't copy when we remove your friends don't copy over and if you do make sure you buy them lunch
Have fun have fun a ass
It's fun school. That's why I come back again instead
important important chapter in my life
Yes, Oh
Like a as is a place
Plays a very important role in my life
And to be honest, I don't have to come back
Like if I if I didn't have a good time I could have just you know, forget it, you know
but the reason why I came back and I always bring this topic up in most of the
interviews when they asked about my school
It's because I feel I feel like it's like a family it's more than just a school
and the relationship well
apart from the education which is good and I feel like the interaction between
students and teachers and all the other staff you even the lunch ladies it's just
the bonding and I felt that I
I'm being I'm loved I feel I feel loved, you know, like that's why it really I
mean Oakley
And thank you
thank you someone I'm blessed that I have a chance to attend to this school of you because when I was in grade 3 I
Was in another international school
And I got here and they're great for actually and I came here and everything changed
Thank you. Yes
2007 you made Fanny Jagadamba shoulder poly to
Negative growth and you build a bit my flip-flop you call me fighting me. Welcome to my friend. Idli
I got bogging down the system. I'm vicious
Nobody knows lemon no restriction. I'm a dreamer dreaming big like the universe
It'll be the night long
So try
What you mean your
fishing boats
The common savage cousin made it happen when loot own chess is common coping connotation
We had the fanny pack
Tested like a bro vibe
People coming back in mess with me. God the Father you look back custard-like wrong for the part. You can call me back at night
You got the family don't look back cut it like a bro. Throw the party coming back
You're nothing more the family don't look back cutting like a bro
Coming back
Oh