At age 18, Dan Truong is the SSC’s youngest volunteer, but his wisdom extends far beyond his years. Throughout our interview I was struck by how many of life’s most important lessons he had already learned–things I didn’t figure out until I had blown out far more candles.

One of his early lessons was of the fragility of life. At age 9, a heart condition nearly took his father. Dan was struck with how quickly things could change, teaching him to treasure the moments he had with people.

Another early lesson was the importance of work ethic, tenacity, and perseverance. At age 14 Dan started playing tennis as a hobby. He was also swimming, and playing volleyball and soccer, but he liked tennis, so he focused on that. Dan says, to begin with he failed a lot and had to learn to pick himself up and keep going. He recalls that later, when he found himself far behind, there were many times when he persisted and ultimately won. He eventually got serious and started playing 2-3 hours per day. By his senior year he was top ranked, and went undefeated in the league, helping his team win the division title out of 12 schools in South San Jose.

Sandwiched between an older brother and a younger sister, Dan has just finished his freshman year at UC Berkeley. During his first term, Dan joined a volunteer, all-student, pro bono consulting group called 180 Degrees Consulting. It was through this group that Dan became acquainted with the SSC, when his team of 6 undergraduates undertook an assignment to conduct a business analysis of the SSC.

We were delighted in April to offer free passes to SSC volunteers for the International Ocean Film Festival (IOFF). We had scheduled an IOFF event in March of 2021, but had to call it off due to the pandemic. This year the festival was held virtually, so it lacked the social aspect we seek in our volunteer events, but it remained a nice perk for SSC volunteers, with films on sailing, diving, and long-distance rowing. We encourage your support of this worthy organization and their concern for the ocean.

The Panamax bulk carrier, Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin, heads west under the Golden Gate bridge. At nearly 79,000 tons, her momentum underway is at the high end of vessels transiting the Bay. From top speed, a ship like this can take 20-25 minutes, and many miles, to come to a full stop, even with its engines in full reverse. Now that's momentum!