- Nicole Chung Mong-joo’s brainchild, Witness Fitness Asia, offers social sports training online and integrates it with an English-speaking environment
- The teenager has also composed ‘Preventing Presbyopia’, a rap song that enlivens the learning experience with rhythm
Nicole Chung believes in using language as a tool for empowerment and education. Photo: HandoutDuring the Covid-19 pandemic, Nicole Chung Mong-joo, then a student at Diocesan Girls’ School, was disheartened by the fact that staying home so much gave students minimal opportunities to speak English with others and stay active, especially in Hong Kong’s small, cramped flats.
“It robbed local students of regular English conversation and exercise,” said the 18-year-old, now a first-year student at the University of Pennsylvania.
It inspired the language enthusiast and sports lover to develop a free online programme that would allow people to exercise at home while learning a language.
Her brainchild, Witness Fitness Asia, offers social sports training sessions online and integrates fun workout routines with a comfortable English-speaking environment.
“Are you so preoccupied with your school work that you cannot remember the last time you exercised? Witness Fitness endeavours to put fitness in your study-life routine so you may have a healthier body and a stronger mind,” says the programme’s website.
Mentors are secondary school student-athletes in Hong Kong who are eager to teach younger students how to exercise safely at home. Each session lasts from 30 to 60 minutes.
“I created Witness Fitness because I wanted more people to understand that being physically fit starts with the courage to try,” she explained, pointing to her own experience as “the tall, skinny girl that ran like a newborn giraffe” in primary school.
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“I had horrible coordination and lacked endurance when I ran. I could barely run two laps on the track, and when I did, I was short of breath. But when you commit to working at it and believe in yourself, you will see improvement before you know it.”
Kids and teens across South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines have all joined the programme, breaking barriers in language learning and fitness. Chung hopes to one day bridge cultural gaps and expand Witness Fitness Asia to include American audiences.
Nicole’s groundbreaking work helped her win the top award in the Linguist (English) category at the prestigious Student of the Year Awards, organised by the South China Morning Post and solely sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The award is a nod to her skills in using language as a tool for empowerment and education.
Nicole also honed her leadership skills through the Inter-School Model United Nations Hong Kong 2022, where she learned that “leadership is about empathising [with] and creatively addressing people’s needs”, she said.
Her innovation does not stop there; she has also leveraged her creative talents to compose “Preventing Presbyopia”, a rap song that enlivens the learning experience with rhythm. This approach has proved particularly effective in engaging participants in the nuances of language and health education.
A memorable turning point for Nicole happened during a fitness session in which she used English pop songs and Disney melodies as tools for learning. “[The participants’] enthusiasm to understand and pronounce the lyrics correctly was a revelation,” she said.
Juggling leadership, academics, and community service is formidable, but Nicole handles it with a unique philosophy. “I see all my activities as interconnected,” she explained. This mindset helps her maintain balance and focus, treating each endeavour as a refreshing break from the others.