When Mollie Mei Yufan was 13, she found herself thrown into the deep end of debating – and she never looked back.
The student at Hong Kong International School traces the spark to an online class during Covid-19 and a first tournament that “made a huge impact on me. That’s really when I realised … it was something that I wanted to carry forth.”
The memory pushed her to try out for Hong Kong’s national debate programme as soon as she was eligible.
During this early immersion, she often competed against students two or three years her senior, which taught Mollie to think quickly, speak clearly and take responsibility without waiting for hand‑holding.
“Debate has definitely improved my communication skills,” she said. Those skills now form the backbone of a leadership style that balances confidence with care.
As president of the Hong Kong Joint School Law Association, Mollie, now 17 years old, has combined debate’s argumentative rigour with a love of writing and the humanities to create programmes that invite peers into conversation rather than confrontation.
She emphasises respect for differing world views, explaining that studying language and the humanities taught her that “everyone is going to have a different perspective” shaped by their upbringing and beliefs.
Under her stewardship, the association has become a forum for students to practise legal reasoning, craft persuasive essays and test ideas in a structured, supportive setting.
Mollie’s weekly routine reads like a study in empathy.
She coaches more than 40 young debaters, ages nine to 14, and tutors refugee children in English and homework support. Those classrooms have humbled her: patience, she said, is the skill she underestimated most.
Watching beginners struggle with the basics reminded her that mastery is incremental; “it takes me back … [I] realised that was also me at one point”.
Working with refugee families also revealed how many resources others lack, such as parental help with schoolwork and access to tutors. It also taught her that steady support can change a child’s trajectory.
Philosophy has become another lens through which Mollie reads the world.
A two‑time Merit Award winner in the John Locke Institute Global Essay Prize competition, she gravitates towards political philosophy: questions of authority, state power, privacy and autonomy animate her essays and inform her debating positions.
Those philosophical inquiries sharpen her ability to frame problems, anticipate counterarguments and mentor students to think beyond winning a round to understanding why an argument matters.
Leadership has not been without setbacks. Running an annual inter‑school championship and coordinating a student‑run tutoring programme has forced Mollie to confront the limits of doing everything by herself, teaching her how to delegate and set realistic goals.
Mollie’s achievements were recognised when she was named second runner-up in the Linguist (English) category of the 2024/25 Student of the Year Awards, organised by the South China Morning Post and exclusively sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Mollie’s journey is an example of learning by doing: listening, teaching, failing and returning with a clearer purpose. Her trajectory suggests that the most persuasive advocates are those who have practised both the art of argument and the patience of instruction.
