OVPTL’s Hai Truong Recognized Alongside Other UCI Honorees at the 2021 Irvine 40 Under 40 Awards

We are excited to announce that Hai Truong, Marketing Manager for the Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning (OVPTL), was awarded at this year’s Irvine 40 Under 40 celebration! Hosted by the Greater Irvine Chamber, the 40 Under 40 is an annual event that celebrates the next generation of leaders and highlights their demonstrated leadership and contributions to their industries and to the Orange County community.

This year’s 40 Under 40 honorees were named at a special awards ceremony held at Marriott Irvine Spectrum on Thursday, December 9, 2021. Hai was recognized along with two other UCI representatives: Daniel S. Chow, M.D., Co-Director of Center for Artificial Intelligence in Diagnostic Medicine, Radiological Sciences, School of Medicine; and Lilangi Ediriwickrema, M.D., Neuro-Ophthalmologist, Gavin Herbert Eye Institute.

Event awardees were nominated by peers and associates for their impressive professional growth, the positive impact they’ve had on their industries, and how they’ve given back through volunteer work. Hai’s nominators included Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning and Dean of Undergraduate Education Michael Dennin and 74th Assembly District Women of Distinction Honoree and President of the United Exchange Corporation Carol Choi. He was specifically honored for an array of accomplishments, including:

• Earning three promotions in the last five years, which saw him transition from Contract Writer to Senior Staff Writer to Marketing Strategist to his current position as Marketing Manager for the OVPTL.

• Transitioning all UCI Summer Session marketing and promotional materials to an online format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, UCI Summer Session 2020 reported record student enrollment and generated $30-40 million in revenue for UCI.

• Developing and co-hosting the We Are UCI podcast to highlight student voices and promote OVPTL student-facing programs and resources.

• Serving as a member of a national organization of higher education institutions, where he positively impacts the marketing industry by giving presentations on marketing strategies to help other higher ed institutions innovate their approach to marketing.

• Eagerly assisting colleagues and UCI students by personally introducing them to new marketing ideas, tools, and strategies, to help develop the next generation of marketing specialists.

• Volunteering as a mentor for undergraduate students to help them get hired after graduation. His mentees have gone on to secure positions at several well-known companies, including BuzzFeed, Vevo, Slack, and more.

• Volunteering as a mentor as part of the UCI Alumni Association’s First-Gen Alumni Mentorship Program, where he offers his experience and insights as a former first-gen student to help incoming first-gen students acclimate to campus life.

• Volunteering as a workshop leader for the UCI Student Affairs’ annual Anteater Leadership Conference, where he hosts workshops on professional development with a focus on vulnerability and the first-gen experience.

• Volunteering as a fellow and an application reviewer for the nonprofit 4.0, an organization focused on developing and empowering leaders in education.

• Volunteering as a website developer for the NGO For the Unseen, an organization established to support Syrian refugees.

Speaking on what the award meant to him, Hai explained:

“It’s a real honor to be recognized by the community alongside my UCI and business colleagues and peers who have dedicated their time and talent to help others. Coming from an environment where I’ve had to navigate a lot of firsts in my family, such as college, being a first-generation Vietnamese American, the working world, and much more, this feels like a bright spot to take a moment and honor the people that should also get credit for this award.”

On behalf of the entire OVPTL team and the UCI community, we congratulate Hai, Dr. Daniel S. Chow, and Dr. Lilangi Ediriwickrema for their incredible accomplishments. To view the full list of Irvine 40 Under 40 winners, click here. For more information on the 40 Under 40 event, click here.