|
Deaf, so he pushed himself to
the limits
By JANE LEE
LIONEL Heng is a typical
17-year-old boy who plays pool and chats with his friends
online.
The National Junior College (NJC)
student not only worked hard at his A levels, but also represented
his school in bowling.
When the A-levels results were announced
yesterday, he aced all four subjects, did well in two special
papers and had a B3 for the General Paper.
Special papers are higher-level,
A-level papers offered by students applying for top scholarships.
With such results, Lionel is eyeing
overseas scholarships that will take him to the US to study
computer science at one of the Ivy League colleges.
Lionel, the oldest of three children,
is a year younger than his classmates was born deaf –
not that you would know it from his achievements.
“My hearing disability has
greatly developed my character by pushing me to work to my
limits, making me realize that hard work can lead to a brighter
future.”
Despite his slightly slurred speech,
Lionel was never shy about speaking or making class presentations.
Mrs. Maureen Ng, principal of NJC
said: “ There was never a hint of self pity in Lionel,
He tried everything and did everything.
“His family is very supportive.
They never considered his deafness a handicap.”
Lionel’s father, Mr. Patrick
Heng, 44, is a businessman and his mother Emilyn, 43, helps
out in the business. They have another son, 14-year-old Joseph,
who is also deaf, and an adopted daughter, 11-year-old Janice.
Today, Lionel has mostly hearing friends, thanks to his mother.
She insisted that he learn how to talk after discovering that
there are only 4000 words in the sign-language vocabulary.
|
