Challenges students to “make the most of every opportunity”
Sonja Larsen
Editorial assistant, Connections
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
Colin Chuang never wanted to study at Avondale, but now he is the face of the college of higher education’s alumni association.
Fresh face: Colin Chuang of Advancement Marketing Services is Avondale College Alumni Association’s Young Alumnus of the Year for 2011. Credit: Ben Moyes.
Encouraged by his father to “give it a go,” Colin enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communication and visual arts. He graduated in 2005 and now reflects on his experience as one that helped him grow in confidence and in maturity.
Avondale College Alumni Association president Pr Des Hills announced Colin as the recipient of the Young Alumnus of the Year during the Alumni and Graduation Forum on Avondale’s Lake Macquarie campus this past Wednesday (May 18). The award is presented to a member of the association aged 30 and under on the sixth anniversary of their graduation. It recognises commitment to Christian service and dedication to achieving personal goals.
Now a marketing officer at Avondale, Colin spoke during Forum of the opportunities people gave him to grow. During his first weekend on campus, the then chaplain, Pr Ian Howie, asked Colin to operate the presentation software for the worship service. Colin did the same for the Friday evening worship service the following week. A friend then asked Colin to help promote an Easter musical, for which he wrote a song. “From that moment, I felt this was where God wanted me.”
Colin would go on to reestablish the basketball competition, which led to the formation of the now Avondale Basketball Association. He also served as part of Student Associated Ministries and of the STORM Co ministry and, since graduating, has marketed the student club One Mission. Colin described his association with an entity that values service as a blessing because “service helps us redefine what really matters in our lives.”
Colin encouraged students to “stop wishing for stuff” we cannot have and cannot change and to “start dreaming so you can see the potential of what could be. . . . It makes it so much easier to wake up in the morning knowing you are doing something you love.”
Colin closed with this text from the Bible: “Make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5b, NIV). “Every moment matters,” he said, “and I believe you are placed where you are at those moments for a purpose.”