Schools

Trenton Grad, Facebook Employee Donates $2,000 to Trenton High School

Jennie Leung graduated from Trenton High School in 1997 and went on to work at Facebook.

When Micheal Doyle, principal at , received a call from a former student wanting to donate $2,000 to the school -- he immediately agreed.

Though Doyle didn't personally know Jennie Leung, who graduated before he became principal at THS, he said he was happy to help anyone willing to donate to the school.

"She called out of the blue," Doyle said.

Find out what's happening in Trenton Grosse Ilewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Leung graduated from THS in 1997 and eventually moved to California, where she began working for Facebook, according to Doyle.

Leung told Doyle she wanted to donate money to specific areas of the school. Through a series of emails Leung told Doyle she wanted $1,000 to go toward the television production department and $1,000 to the math department. She said the teachers she once had in the two departments were the most memorable to her and had a deep impact on her life.

Find out what's happening in Trenton Grosse Ilewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Leung stated she owed much of her success to her former teachers Dennis Hamilton, Michael Keedy and Phyllis Ellsworth, and she wanted to give back to the school in their honor. Each teacher is now retired from .

She also asked Doyle to say hello to track coach Tom Bridges. Leung ran track while she was at THS.

"I'm so happy to give back to Trenton High School," Leung said an email to Doyle. "All of the teachers at Trenton High School have had a significant impact on my life."

Leung's husband, Jeff Lee, is an employee of Apple and managed to get the computer company to match her donation -- getting THS an additional $2,000.

Leung and her family visited THS to see the fruits of her donation. Doyle gave the former THS student and her family a grand tour explaining the new equipment made possible by her donation.

Leung's donation allowed Doyle and THS staff to purchase cable required to connect two new flat-screen televisions, installed in a common area, to the television production room. The remaining monies were used to purchase three Smart Boards for math, English and social studies clasrooms.

The flat-screens were purchased through a grant provided by the Trenton Educational Foundation.

"They were thrilled to see all of the things their donations were able to purchase for the school," Doyle said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here