On January 14th 2012, the Shanghai Chorus team won third place in the finals of the CCTV charity show 'Chorus for Dreams'. SBC Year 2 Events Management student Gou Ruihua was a member of the team and said it was an amazing experience to take part in such an exciting event. All the prize money was given to help fund an art-training project run by World of Art Brut Culture (WABC) for mentally handicapped people.
Last week, we had the opportunity to interview Gou Ruihua and talk about his experience of taking part in the show over the past two months.
Earlier in the year Ruihua was crowned champion of the SBC 'Top Ten Singers' competition. He was very happy and excited to have the chance to sing on stage at CCTV. However, he said that the biggest reward is knowing that he can make a personal contribution to a great charity by doing the thing he loves the most; singing.
As a result of the teams' excellent performances on TV, more and more people heard about the art-training project and decided to get involved. The team also organised a charity bazaar to sell art works created by mentally handicapped people and this event was warmly welcomed and well supported by students and staff at the university.
Here at SBC, several of Ruihua's friends and classmates were prompted by the show and decided they also wanted to do something for this charity project.
During the interview, Ruihua, said that students at SBC are actively encouraged to take part in charitable events and that the environment at SBC and education he has received have influenced the way he thinks about charity work. In addition to the prize money contributions to charity, Ruihua also worked as a volunteer at an orphanage in his hometown during the winter holidays after the show.
Ruihua received a lot of help from SBC teachers for which he is very thankful and he greatly appreciated this support. He particularly wants to thank Joya, training manager of the Career Service Department and Irene, Y2&Y4 Student tutor and coordinator, for helping him to communicate with foreign lecturers to rearrange his study schedule to fit around his charity show commitments. He would also like to thank Colin Wanmer, Director of the School of Business and Communication who was also a great support during the competition.
At the end of interview, Guo Ruihua said that he has learned a lot from this show and that as an individual he feels he has changed a lot in the past few months. He believes that individuals and groups of people do have the power to make changes in the world. He hopes his song will encourage goodwill and generate positive energy to people around him.
