Bates sophomore Trung Trong Huynh understands the meaning of community service. Newly arrived in the United States in 1989, the fifth grader and his family — natives of the small Vietnamese city Pleiku — settled in another small city, Portland, Maine. A resident of the Riverton Park housing project, Trung adjusted to his new life, thanks in part, to some tutoring he received at the Riverton Park Education Center. "I know how important volunteers are" Trung says. "My tutors answered all my homework questions, but they also shed light on college and introduced me to thinking about my future."

After a semester at Bates, Trung decided to do the same for recently arrived immigrant middle and high school students — from nations such as the Sudan, Somalia, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Ethiopia — now studying at Riverton. With the support of an Arthur Crafts Service Award administered by the Bates College Center for Service-Learning with two other Bates students, Trung, in collaboration with junior Lucy Lu of South Orange, N.J., and sophomore Abdelfetah Jibril of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, established a one-on-one tutoring program at Riverton that transports 30 Bates to Portland two nights a week.

"I know we're helping these students to shape their dreams and to bring out the all-important four-letter word 'hope' that puts a smile on our and their faces," Trung says. "Our community can be a better place if we perform selfless acts for others."

At Bates, Trung competes for the cross country track team; coordinates Sangai Asia, an organization of Asian and Asian American awareness, identity and fellowship; and and serves on the Chaplain's Interfaith Council. A psychology major, Trung hopes to work in the field of social services. "Think about all the help you were given. It's time to give back!"