The Anglo-Chinese Junior College team: Top row, from left, Omer (the mascot), Noel Ng, Glenn Yong,
Dior Lee; bottom row, from left, Miss Choo, Nirali Subnis, Meranda Tang and Nicholas Lai. - ACJC picture.
THE journey undertaken
by the Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) "Odyssey of the
Mind" team has truly been an odyssey of discovery - of the
art of creativity and imagination.
It all began in the first quarter
of the year, during which a highly contested selection saw seven
students - Dior Lee, Nicholas Lai, Nirali Subnis, Ashwin Gowtam,
Glenn Yong, Noel Ng and Meranda Tang - taking up the challenge
of representing ACJC in the internationally-renowned competition.
The team embarked on the journey, trusting God for providence
and wisdom every step of the way.
Working
hard to come up with creative solutions and props for their competition
skit, the team members forged strong friendships and many wonderful,
fun-filled memories. Their innovation and attention to seeing
the project through were rewarded with an outstanding win in their
division "I'm Only Thinking Of You" (category), with
full marks for the spontaneous round, during the Nationals held
on April 13 and 14, 2007.
This earned them the right to represent Singapore in their
category in the "Odyssey of the Mind World" Finals,
held at the Michigan State University in the United States from
May 23 to 26 this year.
Despite the elation and honour
this presented to them, there were still many challenges that
they had to overcome before they could head off for the World
Finals. Being mostly JC2 students, they were concerned about their
ability to juggle competition preparations, school work and CCA
commitments. They faced another setback when a valuable team member,
Ashwin, could not make it to Michigan due to personal reasons.
Despite these setbacks, they persevered,
convincing themselves with the value and rarity of such a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity. With a firm trust in God, they valiantly pressed
on.
However, that did not mark an
end to the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that they faced.
In an almost comic twist of fate, they stepped onto the tarmac
of Detroit Metro Airport, only to find their luggage missing when
transferring from one terminal to another. Thankfully, their props
for the competition were intact. Perhaps, the deprivation of clean
clothes magnified their desire to win.
Eight sweet
minutes bring
honour and
glory to
college
and nation
Either way, the ACJC Odyssey
team was determined to stay focused and not be demoralised by
other strong teams. Yet amidst this intense spirit of competition,
the team members never forgot to seize the moment and enjoy the
process of meeting new people, including their buddy team from
Florida and trading pins. Keeping a steady concentration on their
task ahead, they did not rest on their laurels but engaged in
intensive prop touching up and rehearsals day and night.
And so they gave of their best
on competition day, and the standing ovation they received on
their humour from not only the judges but also the audience was
testimony to their outstanding performance.
However, things took a worrying
turn when their raw scores reflected a penalty of five points,
and they thought they had lost all hope of gaining the championship.
On the way to the second part
of the competition (the spontaneous problem), a stranger approached
them and his comments that their performance earlier had him laughing
harder than he had in a long while really encouraged them and
gave them strength to deliver their best yet again. Perhaps, it
was God's mysterious ways of sending His people to encourage the
ACJC students that day.
Waiting for the awards ceremony
was nerve-wrecking. Just when the tension was becoming unbearable,
they were pronounced World Champions, sharing the title with Ithaca
College, with a difference of 0.4 point. The entire Singapore
contingent cheered for them. It was then that they truly savoured
the fruits of their labour, with the eight magnificent minutes
of performance playing over and over again in their minds.
Their success in replicating ACJC's
2005 success brings honour and glory to the college as well as
to Singapore. The team would like to thank everyone who supported
them - their teachers-in-charge, Miss Choo Wan Xian, Miss Azlina
bte Majid and Mdm Ng Cheng Cheng, their alumni coaches, David
de Winne and Jill Ng, as well as their many faithful schoolmates.
They would also like to thank
the many individuals who contributed to their fund-raising efforts,
especially the Lee Foundation and the National Youth Council for
their support.
On reflection, they could understand
better the many obstacles faced, the fear of failure, moments
when they allowed their hearts to give up; restricted by their
humanness, but God who is sovereign once again assured ACJC that
"A man's heart plans his way, but it is the Lord who directs
his steps." (Proverbs 16:9). They see in part, but God sees
the whole.