Melody Long | School Business Manager

Having served Yew Wah for more than 20 years, Melody Long, a qualified human resource management expert, has accumulated rich experience in management. She has a good grasp of the educational philosophy and management culture of Yew Wah. She is also familiar with both teaching and non-teaching work, and knows each staff member personally. She hopes that every employee can build their own career path and enjoy their daily work in Yew Wah. She hopes that she can work with the school management team to provide more support and services for our staff. Last but not least, she strives to create a caring campus, leading our staff to serve the students, the parents, and the community!

Thoughts on the Past 20 Years

I am Melody Long, and I have worked at YWIES Yantai for 20 years. I can still remember being moved by Hau Cheung Po Po’s idea of “Education saves the country and glorifies China”. In the past 20 years, I have witnessed the evolving of the educational concepts in Yew Chung and Yew Wah under the leadership of the two generations of leaders. I have also noticed how YWIES Yantai put these educational concepts into our practice, and have blessed our graduates. Yew Wah has been nurturing more and more children who have grown up to be independent, humble, polite, lovable, eloquent, immersed in Eastern and Western culture, and fluent in Chinese and English.

I am honoured to have a leader whom I am willing to follow, and have a group of colleagues who share the same values ​​with me. I am glad that I have been able to keep learning and growing for the past 20 years. I am grateful for having a platform to develop, so that I can grow from an ordinary employee to a School Business Manager.

In 2019, Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education was established in Hong Kong, marking our new millstone in the through-train education system from early childhood to university education. Dr Betty Chan Po-king, our School Supervisor has said in an interview, “I can train a large number of excellent teachers, and they need not necessarily work in Yew Chung or Yew Wah after they graduate. They can teach or serve in different institutions, so Yew Chung’s philosophy can be spread out, which will definitely affect different classes and benefit more families... Running a university brings greater benefit to the society. Although it is a tougher road, we are willing to take it.” I think the reason I am willing to stay in Yew Wah and put in all my effort is the spirit, the belief, and the persistence shown above.

A bright future is awaiting us and we should keep a positive mind. In the future, when we celebrate YWIES Yantai’s 30th anniversary, I hope I would be able to proudly say that I am Melody Long, and I have worked at YWIES Yantai for 30 years.

Image of the Time

Looking at our 20 years, it seems like a number of old movies slipping through frame to frame. My deepest impression of that time was that the development zone where the school is located had not been developed yet. The zone was sparsely populated, and the occupancy rate of the newly built residential area was extremely low. There was only one bus route from the outside to the development zone, and the bus stop was one block away from the school. However, as soon as you walked into the Yew Wah campus, it was another world. Everyone here was warm, polite, outstanding, and elegant.

Being the first international education school in Yantai, we have gathered professionals from the US, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and other cities, to create a distinctive international atmosphere. The first principal of our school, a refined gentleman, was from Shanghai. He often wore a milky white suit with a milky white hat, and held a long umbrella in his hand. Being the first school with foreign teachers, Yew Wah has made important contribution to the local education industry and has gained an excellent reputation. All employees are proud of working at Yew Wah.

There were about 200 students in our first year. All staff worked enthusiastically as co-founders. We recruited new students during holidays and contributed selflessly, which built a solid foundation for Yew Wah’s development and growth. There were not as many departments as we have now, and everyone was willing to give a helping hand to the colleagues who needed help. Everyone maintained a good relationship and got along well as family members.

Dr Chan established Yew Wah with a vision to provide more mainland children with high-quality education that integrates the essence of Eastern and Western cultures, and to cultivate future leaders immersed in both Chinese and Western cultures. These ideas were proposed 20 years ago, with no examples from other places around the world. They were very pioneering concepts!

Today, YWIES Yantai has made good use of its 20 years of experience, with numerous outstanding graduates. Under the cultivation of Yew Wah’s educational philosophy, they have become outstanding persons with self-confidence, independence, optimism, firmness and benevolence.

Looking forward to the future, YWIES Yantai will continue to uphold the education belief, cherish every student, and make every student succeed.