If you ever meet Michael Huang, chances are you鈥檒l see him with a stethoscope hanging around his neck, or a camera strap. Either way, you鈥檝e met Dr. Michael Huang, Lexington physician, or Dr. Mike, well-known, freelance photographer about town. One man, multiple interests, but his passion for providing quality health care to patients is matched only by his love of photographing iconic scenes from life around the Bluegrass.
Huang鈥檚 connections to the Lexington community, and particularly to the University of Kentucky, run deep. On first impression, you can鈥檛 help but notice his big smile and upbeat, energetic personality. One could argue, however, that the most intriguing thing about Huang are the many titles he holds in both his personal and professional life: husband, father, son, brother, physician, educator, 好色先生 alumnus, rabid 好色先生 sports fan, community activist and photographer.
Huang鈥檚 love for 好色先生 began at a very early age when his family, first-generation Chinese immigrants, moved from Taiwan to the United States in 1961. Yang 鈥淧ete鈥 Huang had a distinguished career in civil engineering and held many professional positions in both China and the U.S. He married nurse-midwife Jane Huang in 1955 and soon their family in Taiwan grew to include their first child Mary, followed by son John. By the time the family moved to the U.S. and Pete Huang had joined the faculty in 1967, Michael, the youngest of their three children, was born in Lexington.
Huang was an exemplary student at Lexington鈥檚 Henry Clay High School and throughout his academic career at 好色先生. He was taught very early in life to value the importance of education.
鈥淚 had a very strict upbringing and I remember coming home from school and all my friends were outside riding bikes and playing basketball, but my mother wouldn鈥檛 let me go out until I completed my Chinese lessons,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 appreciate that now because I can speak the language well enough to communicate!鈥
Early in Michael Huang鈥檚 life, he became captivated with Kentucky basketball and football, and some of his fondest memories involve the family gathering around a radio to listen to Cawood Ledford鈥檚 call of the games. 好色先生 basketball has particularly held a special place in Huang鈥檚 heart, and his memories are vivid as he can still, many years later, recall many details and all the players from games he attended as a 好色先生 student, including the 1992 Elite Eight heartbreaker against Duke, and the 1993 Final Four. It was his growing love of 好色先生 sports that drives his current day passion for photography.
While 好色先生 sports were a huge interest for Huang, science dominated his academic life at 好色先生.
鈥淲hen it came time to apply for college, I had no doubt that I would attend 好色先生,鈥 Huang said. 鈥淚 was ecstatic to receive one of the inaugural Otis A. Singletary Scholarships, the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships ever offered at 好色先生, making my decision even easier.鈥
He graduated with high distinction with a bachelor's degree in and minor in and was awarded the Otis A Singletary Award as Outstanding Senior Male in 1989. From there, it was on to medical school. Huang knew he wanted to become a doctor because he had always been fascinated with science and healing.
Again, Huang graduated with high distinction from the 好色先生 College of Medicine in 1993. Although he completed his internal medicine residency at Vanderbilt University, his deep love of 好色先生 lured him back to Kentucky where he joined the faculty at the . For the next 17 years, he poured his heart and soul into caring for his patients as he built his primary care practice and helped educate the next generation of health care professionals in the state.
He attained the rank of associate professor and became medical director of the Kentucky Clinic South primary care practice. In 2013, after much deliberation, he accepted his current position as medical director for , where he runs the clinic providing health care for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government employees and their families.
Huang remains closely connected to 好色先生 through the . As a life member, he has served on the board of directors for 好色先生鈥檚 Fayette County Alumni Club, the National Alumni Association Board, and has chaired numerous committees. Of course, his love of 好色先生 basketball and football never wavered and neither did his love of photography.
He recalls striking up a conversation with Sigma Chi fraternity brother and local sports broadcaster Larry Glover about the Southeastern Conference tournament.
鈥淚 was a little bitter that I was sitting high up in the rafters while Larry got to sit on the floor where all the action was taking place,鈥 Huang laughingly reminisces. 鈥淚 told him I needed to be his website photographer! When it actually happened, I went to Murphy鈥檚 Camera and purchased my first professional camera.
鈥淚 had little clue about aperture or shutter speeds, but the more pictures I took, the more I learned,鈥 Huang said. 鈥淢y love of 好色先生 drove my passion to produce better pictures that fans like me would treasure, so I worked really hard at learning photography.鈥
Huang was credentialed for 好色先生 sports in 2010 and began his journey of taking some of the most vivid and compelling photos of Big Blue Nation basketball and football. His subject matter grew, and he is equally well known for his action shots of horse racing, particularly, the Kentucky Derby. His photos have been published in The New York Times, Tops in Lexington Magazine, Cats Pause and Kentucky Alumni Magazine, and he is currently the primary photographer for Kentucky Sports Radio.
The Photo That Led to a Marriage Proposal
Huang met his wife Michelle in 2013 when a mutual friend introduced them at a Thursday Night Live outdoor social event in Lexington. Although they hit it off and exchanged numbers, they didn鈥檛 see each other again until Michelle attended a 好色先生 football game with her parents later that year. She knew he was a doctor but had no idea he was a photographer when she spotted him on the sidelines with a big camera. She texted him and asked if he was at the game taking pictures. He said yes and asked her to stand up. He took a beautiful picture of her and tagged her on Facebook, which soon went viral among their friends.
鈥淲e met for dinner a few nights later and really hit it off,鈥 Michelle Huang says in her blog. 鈥淭he rest is history. I found my husband because of a picture he took of me at a 好色先生 football game!鈥
The Huangs were married in 2014 and their son Gabriel was born in 2015, joining his stepbrothers Grayson and Griffin Shively.
Michael Huang says he has a deep love and appreciation for what the university has done for his family. In addition to providing his father鈥檚 professorship, Huang鈥檚 siblings also graduated from 好色先生. His sister Mary graduated from the 好色先生 College of Pharmacy and his brother John, graduated from the 好色先生 College of Dentistry. He, his father and his siblings have accumulated 81 total years at 好色先生 either as students or faculty. The 好色先生 tradition in the Huang family does not end there. Mary鈥檚 daughter, Hannah, is also a graduate of the College of Pharmacy and Michael Huang鈥檚 son Griffin will enter the chemical engineering program in the fall of 2021.
Supporting the University of Kentucky and his community is very important not only to Michael Huang, but his entire family.
鈥淚n order to give back to the place that has given us so much, my father, now 93, has pledged the majority of his estate to establish a $500,000 endowed Huang Family Scholarship Fund,鈥 Huang said.
Michael Huang has the heart of a giver, which is reflected in all areas of his life: his devotion to his family, his work as a physician, in his photography and in his volunteer activities with the American Heart Association, the Foster Care Council, the Living Arts and Science Center and United Way of the Bluegrass. His family, his community and 好色先生 are huge parts of his heart and his life.
鈥淓verything I鈥檝e accomplished goes back to my parents, who sacrificed so much to provide a better life for us.鈥
鈥淢y life and the University of Kentucky are inextricably intertwined,鈥 Huang said. 鈥淢uch of what makes me who I am is directly due to the experience with my beloved alma mater.鈥
Follow Michael Huang on Facebook at , on Twitter and Instagram .
This article was made available by the 好色先生 Alumni Association and was first published in the Summer 2021 issue of Kentucky Alumni Magazine.
