At Gala 2022, the Mitchell Institute announced the formation of a new Alumni giving society to recognize Mitchell Scholar Alumni who have followed the example of the late Truc Huynh, a remarkably gifted and altruistic Scholar Alumnus, who passed away at the age of 40 in June of 2022.

“At the time of his passing, Truc was involved with what had become a hallmark of his adult life: raising money for a youth-serving program,” Mitchell Institute President & CEO Jared Cash told a gathering of Gala attendees in announcing the new giving society. “He was the 2001 Mitchell Scholar from Portland High School and a 2005 graduate of Bowdoin College. He became a prominent leader in greater Portland and was widely known for his gregarious and generous spirit. He was beloved by our organization.”

While Truc’s history of community service — asking people to join him in serving meals at the Preble Street soup kitchen on his birthdays, steadfastly supporting Camp Susan Curtis, and launching Fishing Across Maine to raise thousands of dollars for Wayside Food Programs — is legendary in the greater Portland area, what may not be as widely known is that he made financial contributions to the Mitchell Institute at a level that matched and eventually surpassed the entire amount of the Scholarship award that he received in support of his education at Bowdoin College.