Perseverance—the tenacity to stay decided and pushed—was the theme of South Florida-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Philip Wong’s presentation within the second of the three-part lecture sequence at St George’s School, which highlighted his donation of a $50 million state-of-the-art gymnasium to his alma mater.
Wong, a 1959 St George’s School graduate with a level in electrical engineering and an MBA, is the CEO of the Deltana Group of Corporations, a number one architectural {hardware} producer. Famend for giving again, he pledged on the finish of his presentation—an inspiring account of triumphs over trials—to fund a 40,000-square-foot gymnasium to be named after his spouse and himself, equal companions within the enterprise. The Barbara and Philip Wong STGC Gymnasium will likely be an entire train facility, absolutely air-conditioned and outfitted with locker rooms, stalls, loos, and cutting-edge tools. “It’s to construct each our bodies and minds of the scholars and college,” stated Wong.
Eighty p.c of the $50 million will go towards the gymnasium, with the remaining 20 p.c devoted to hiring the brightest lecturers to tutor college students after college and on weekends.
Addressing a packed auditorium of scholars and educators from ten excessive faculties throughout the island, Wong urged listeners to not be deterred by disappointments. “Put it rapidly behind you,” he suggested, recalling how he as soon as returned to Jamaica for a promised job solely to search out it not out there. The lesson, which remained pivotal all through his life, was summed up in a single phrase: Persevere.
He shared different classes immediately with the scholars of his alma mater. “If you get a chance to attend a highschool like St George’s School,” stated Wong—who arrived in Jamaica at age 5 from Tahiti, talking no English and rising up in Mavis Financial institution the place his household ran a small store—“you have to embrace it and provides it your all. Examine arduous, do your homework, and don’t waste time. Do your finest.”
To college students planning to check abroad, he suggested taking any job essential to pursue their goal, as he as soon as did whereas working as a “home boy” throughout his years on the College of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). “The job doesn’t matter,” he stated. “The tip end result does.”
His last lesson was the significance of giving again as soon as success is achieved. “If you’re profitable, it is best to at all times give again no matter you possibly can—in sort or service. If you give again it’s empowering…and it at all times comes again to me tenfold.”
Throughout a question-and-answer session, college students repeatedly requested concerning the keys to success in enterprise and management, and the qualities wanted to get well from setbacks. Wong—whose life and generosity to St George’s School have been profiled in a documentary—credited his supportive household and particularly the persistence of his spouse, however returned repeatedly to the identical guideline: Persevere.
