(The following text is an excerpt from the book Chinese Americans in Irvine 1971-2021)
David Sun immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan in 1977. In 1987, in partnership with John Tu, he founded Kingston Technology Company, Inc. in Southern California, today the largest independent manufacturer of memory products for devices such as desktop computers, notebooks, servers, and printers. Having achieved success in business, he established the Sun Foundation to provide scholarships for students from less privileged families, numerous non-profit organizations, among them the much-touted Irvine Chinese School (ICS) and the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center (SCCCC).
Possessed of a modest personality and a tendency to keep his charitable acts under wraps, David Sun originally supported the SCCCC/ICS anonymously. In gratitude for his magnanimity, the SCCCC Board specifically suggested that the ICS building be named the Kuan-Yuan Tai Educational Building to memorialize his mother, who strongly influenced how he lived and how he dealt with others.
Kuan-Yuan Tai was a high school biology teacher much beloved by her students. In the classroom, she often cited concrete examples from life, or personal experiences, to encourage young people to put their learning to practical application. Of a generous nature, always ready to lend an ear or a helping hand, she was her students’ trusted mentor and friend. When they faced difficulties, they often sought her help outside class, whether on their studies, finances, or family setbacks. Over more than thirty years of teaching, she provided the guiding light for thousands in their pursuit of dreams or in creating new pathways in life.
Growing up under the tutelage of a mother bent on freedom, openness, and character development, David emerged with an optimistic outlook, a sense of gratitude, a
willingness to share, and sincerity in his dealings with others. These traits show up in his pragmatic management style - the boss is one with his employees, and not of superiority. His humanizing management has elicited the highest productivity from a dedicated staff. Kingston’s sharing $100 million profit with the employees in 1996 made such headlines that Fortune and other business magazines ranked the company for years among the 100 best companies to work for, writing a fresh chapter in the successes of Chinese immigrants who started from scratch.
David and his wife, Diana, started the Sun Family Foundation mainly to support the schools, hospitals and charitable organizations in Orange County where they settled, and in Taiwan. Through dozens of nonprofits, the Sun Family Foundation shared its love with people in the community who needed help, advocated for the preservation of Chinese culture, awarded educational grants to children in economically less privileged homes, and funded social welfare organizations dedicated to improving public health.
David Sun grew up in a middle-class home headed by a single parent. Once his foundation was in place, he paid special attention to families with financial hardship in the U.S. and in Taiwan. He sees education as the dynamic force for the realization of hope. Awarding scholarships to needy students motivates them to study. Tens of thousands of young students have benefited. The fate of many such families have been altered.
Always modest about publicizing his own charitable undertakings, David Sun thinks everyone can hold out a hand to help friends or, even, strangers, around him/her by offering his/her talents and time. The value of such acts weighs no less than that of a millionaire’s donation. He cites the example of his first job in the U.S. to encourage young students never to underestimate their influence. In the early 1980’s he saw himself as an entry-level engineer whose English was less than fluent. His boss saw the selflessness he displayed in helping colleagues solve problems and promoted him to supervisor. David was totally surprised. He later realized that the way he treated people was the key to leadership. Therefore, he always encourages grant awardees of his Foundation to set good examples, to pay attention to those around them, to give appropriate help at the right time, to share, thereby win their cohorts’ respect through genuine good will and kind actions. (English translation by Sally Feng)
(以下文字摘錄自《爾灣華裔紀實1971-2021》一書)
孫大衛於 1977 年自台灣移民來美,1987 年在美國 南加州與杜紀川創辦金士頓公司,現為全球規模最大的電腦記憶體廠商。事業有成後,孫大衛在1999 年成立慈善基金會,提供弱勢家庭學生獎學金,並贊助無數個非營利組織,其中最為人津津樂道的義舉,包括協助興建位在爾灣市的爾灣中文學校及南海岸中華文化中心。
本著為善不欲人知的謙虛個性,孫大衛原先以匿名贊助南海岸中華文化協會/爾灣中文學校,校方感念孫大衛的慈善義舉 ,特別建議將這座南加州最溫暖的文化據點命名為「戴廣源文教大樓」,以紀念對他為人處世影響深遠的母親。
孫大衛的母親戴廣源是一位受學生敬愛的中學生物老師,她在教室裡講課時,經常引用生活上的實例,或是親身經歷的故事,鼓勵青少年要活學活用。個性豪邁、樂於助人的她,也是學生心目中值得信賴的良師益友,當學生碰到困難時,往往會在課後向她尋求協助,無論是學業、經濟或家庭上的挫折,戴廣源老師總是耐心的傾聽,適時伸出援手,在她 30 多年的教學生涯中,輔導過幾千名學生,為他們點亮前方之路,鼓勵他們勇敢追夢,開創人生的新途。
孫大衛在母親自由開放、適性發展的教育理念中成長,培養出樂觀、感恩、分享、誠信的做人態度,這也表現在他務實的管理作風,沒有高高在上的姿態,老闆與員工平起平坐,以人性化管理贏得上下一心的絕佳工作效率。1996 年金士頓公司拿出一億美金利潤與員工分享,轟動一時,後來連續多年被 Fortune等商業雜誌選為美國福利最佳的百大企業之一,寫下華人移民在美國白手起家的傳奇。
孫大衛與妻子古怡薇設立的孫氏慈善基金會,主要贊助他們兩人定居的橙縣及台灣兩地學校、醫院及慈善團體,透過數十個非營利組織,孫氏慈善基金會將愛心分享給社區中需要幫助的人群、提倡及保存中華文化、獎助清寒家庭子女及改善社區公共衛生的公益團體。
孫大衛自小生長在由單親媽媽支撐的小康之家,在他成立基金會後,特別關注美國及台灣的弱勢家庭,他相信「有教育才有希望」,提供獎學金鼓勵家境清寒學生努力向學,迄今已有成千上萬的年輕學子受益,也改變了許多弱勢家庭的命運。
一向不願對外宣揚自己的慈善事業,孫大衛認為,人人都可以伸出援手,幫助周圍的朋友或陌生人,奉獻個人的才能與時間,價值不輸給百萬富翁的捐款。他以當年在美國的第一份工作為例,鼓勵年輕學子切勿輕忽個人的影響力。80年代初,孫大衛自認是連英語都講不好的新進工程師,上司卻看到他無私幫助同事解決問題的誠懇,將他升為主管,令孫大衛深感驚訝,後來才體會到,做人的態度才是領導力的關鍵。因此,他總是鼓勵受到基金會獎助的孩子們,要以身作則,多關注身邊的人,適時給予協助,以真誠分享的善意與行動,贏得同儕的尊重。(蕭迪玉撰文)
（David and Diana Sun love to spend time in nature and enjoy hiking in their spare time 孫大衛、古怡薇夫婦愛好親近大自然的戶外運動。）