One of Extension's Rising Stars

Kevin Wong: Sunken treasure hunter finds real gold in the desert.

As an avid scuba diver and dive shop owner, San Francisco resident Kevin Wong did what many young men only dream of doing. He sold everything, sailed to the Bahamas and ended up in Ecuador, living on a boat with monkeys and birds, searching for sunken treasure.

He searched for more than 10 years, but he never found his fortune at the bottom of the ocean.

Kevin found it in the desert, when he moved to Joshua Tree, accepted a job as an administrative assistant for Hospice of Morongo Basin and enrolled in classes at UCR Extension. Last fall, Kevin earned the Certificate in Nonprofit Management.

Today, he is executive director for Hospice of Morongo Basin.

"I don't want to say ‘I'm blessed,' but I feel absolutely blessed," Kevin said.

Kevin, who started part-time as an administrative assistant, now oversees the operations of a nonprofit hospice service that supports 35 volunteers who generously and lovingly help those who are dying and their family members. Hospice of Morongo Basin is a community organization that charges no fees for its services.

In the midst of the desert, Kevin has found an oasis filled with love and hope.

"I am surrounded by people who are filled with compassion, caring and love," Kevin said. "It was completely opposite the egotistical money-grubbing jerks that I was working for. It was so refreshing."

Kevin thinks he might not have the position he has today if it weren't for his studies at UCR Extension.

"I had no background in nonprofits," Kevin said. "Without the certificate program, I would not have been a strong candidate."

Kevin's background is a tad eclectic. He was born in San Francisco, one of eight children. Kevin's father painted buildings on the UC Berkeley campus.

"I had the college campus in the '60s as my backyard," Kevin said.

Kevin, who is also a painter and photographer, went on to study anthropology in college. In the '70s, he found a love of scuba diving and opened up a dive shop, which he owned for 10 years. But the wanderlust bug bit. Kevin sold his business and hopped on a sailboat to seek sunken treasure. He found a silver bar in the Bahamas (the only ocean treasure he ever found), bought his own boat and a treasure map and eventually moored in Ecuador, where he spent another 10 years.

"I was a great beach bum," Kevin said.

But the money ran out and eventually Kevin returned to the United States only to realize that while he was hanging in a hammock in the tropics, a computer revolution had occurred. If Kevin was to find a job, he needed some computer skills. Back to school he went, where he eventually met his wife, Marley, who is also an artist. Today, Marley runs the Hospice Gift Shop.

Because of Kevin's classroom assignments and help from his instructors at Extension, he was able to successfully apply for a grant for the Hospice. He recently presented a marketing plan, prepared with the help of his instructors at Extension, to the board of directors. The plan was approved and Kevin is now actively seeking different donor pools to ensure Hospice has the financial capability to continue its good works.

Kevin says he will no doubt return to Extension to take more classes.

"I cannot not pick up those catalogs and see what classes are being offered," Kevin said.

by Joan Kite