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Tran and her father escaped from Vietnam and came to the United States as refugees; they have been succeeding ever since. Tran was a consistent participant in and leader of the Joyful Noise Gospel Choir, a regular participant in Evening Abroad (singing Vietnamese songs and wowing the crowd with a salsa dance), a DJ on the campus radio station, and even found time to be a dorm counselor. Her wide-ranging interests and abilities as a journalism student earned her one of only 20 Pulliam Fellowships awarded to support a summer internship. She chose to spend it with The Indianapolis Star over Time Magazine. As her faculty said, “Tran is a fighter for the little guy, the world’s poor, the fair thing. I watched her struggle to do good in the simplest journalism assignments, finding low-income families in Rockbridge to write about, profiling immigrants learning English at the library. I hope her strong sense of justice and her personal experience of grace will work out in journalism. No matter -- it will work out. She is a spiritually inspired and intellectually gifted survivor.” Tran hopes for a career in international journalism or public relations. Working for non-profit organizations or taking on graduate or law school are also possibilities.

Sources: file, personal information, interview

Written by: Scott Dittman, sdittman@wlu.edu

Updated: June 15, 2005