SOTY 2024/25: Best Improvement winner shares how she overcame struggle
Meerab Malik took a setback – repeating a year – and turned it into a fresh start
Meerab Malik is now a Form 6 student at St Rose of Lima’s College. Photo: HandoutMeerab Malik, now a Form Six student at St Rose of Lima’s College, still remembers the gut punch of Form One. Back then, the Pakistani student struggled with English. School felt like a mountain she could not climb.
“When I saw my awful Form One results, I braced myself to repeat the year – I was near the bottom of the whole form,” Meerab shared. “I tried to prepare mentally, but when the school called my parents to confirm it, reality hit hard. Suddenly, everything felt like it was flipping upside down.”
Meerab described the stigma she faced in her family regarding repeating a year, emphasising how the fear of ridicule weighed heavily on her mind.
For Meerab, the sting wasn’t just about grades – the dread of family judgment loomed large. “In my house, repeating a year means you’re fair game for teasing,” she said. “I’d seen my cousin get mocked for it, and the thought of being next terrified me.”
But then, a shift happened. “Part of me thought, ‘This could be a fresh start,’” Meerab said.
SOTY 2023/24: Best Improvement winner overcomes setbacks, has ambitious dreams
She did not face much academic pressure growing up. “My parents aren’t highly educated – they married young,” she explained. “Studying wasn’t pushed, especially for me as a girl. They figured I’d just marry and be a housewife. All through primary school, I stayed near the bottom – I never really tried.”
Meerab’s turning point came in Form Three, “You pick electives then, and I wanted biology,” she recalled. “It’s based on your ranking, so I had to step up. It was tough, but my grades climbed. Seeing that first improvement? I felt proud – like I was not weak at studying. It’s just that I never tried.”
Her teachers and friends became her backbone. “I had this one friend, a fellow Pakistani student, who was really good at studying. Her Chinese wasn’t too good, so I had to speak to her in English. In Form One, my English was disastrous, but I was forced to improve it to communicate with her,” she explained.
“My teachers were also extremely supportive. One of them suggested I go for the student union, and that was the first time I actually considered it.”
In Form Four, Meerab became the vice-president of the student union, a role she took on despite facing initial resistance from her peers. “There were whispers, rumours that I wasn’t good enough,” she recalled.
“There was a lot of backlash because of my different background. They did not think I was good enough because I wasn’t a charming local student,” she said. “But I felt more of a need to show who I was and prove that I am capable. My teachers supported me, and I was able to manage quite well.”
Meerab was this year’s Best Improvement winner at the Student of the Year Awards. The award is organised by the South China Morning Post and solely sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Meerab sees being held back as a pivotal moment in her life, one that ultimately gave her the courage to face challenges head-on. “Many people think that when you retake a year, there’s no hope for you. But I feel like it gives you a new beginning,” she said.
Looking ahead, Meerab hopes to continue helping others, drawing on her own experiences of struggle and resilience.
“My dream is to become an actress because I really enjoy acting. Through acting, I feel like you can show a lot of messages and connect with viewers on a deeper level. I think acting aligns with my values, which is to help others.”