As construction on Mid-Pacific Institute’s $7.5 million track and field complex continues, a recent gift earmarked for its new middle school building will help bring the vision of modern classrooms and community spaces to life.
Mercedes Millington, who is an alumna of the school and currently serves as secretary of the John C. Mithun Foundation, gave $500,000 toward the building’s second floor, designed to be “a welcoming space to bring students, alumni and the community together,” according to Mid-Pacific. Through the foundation, Millington, who lives in Santa Barbara, California, has also previously donated to the school’s performing arts program.
“This gift is my way of saying thank you,” Millington said in a statement. “Mid-Pacific helped build my confidence and taught me leadership, public speaking and how to carry myself in the world. I hope it inspires future students and allows them to expand their knowledge in ways that will serve them well for the rest of their lives.”
This is the third significant gift to the middle school building related to naming opportunities, and Mid-Pacific is still actively accepting donations, the school shared with Aloha State Daily by written statement.
No start or completion dates have been set for the capital project, which would revamp Bingham Hall, a structure built in 1953 that over the past decades has been used for various school activities. Mid-Pacific said the new facility will feature new classrooms and common areas equipped with technology to better prepare students for their futures.
“We are really grateful always for our supporters, and in this particular case, the new middle school building extends everything that Mid-Pacific is known for, in terms of deeper learning, interdisciplinary learning, collaborative approach to learning that signifies that students are going to flourish later on in life when they leave high school and when they leave college,” Mid-Pacific President Paul Turnbull said.
He added that the school's overall vision is to “empower students to thrive with confidence, adaptability and integrity.”
For more information or to donate, visit midpac.edu.
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
