By Katie Clausen, Plain Talk
For Lena Tran, it is all about how the past can influence the future. As the recipient of a coveted Gilman Scholarship, she plans on using her personal history, melded with the history of our world, to further her education.
Lena Tran (Plain Talk)
“I’m going to use it to help pay for my expenses to study abroad,” Tran said. “I want to know more about the history of French culture.”
While Tran isn’t French, she has focused on Europe for specific reasons. This trip will be educational and academic, but also very personal.
“I am Vietnamese and the French colonized Vietnam,” Tran said. “In some areas of Vietnam they speak French.”
Tran will be spending the spring 2015 semester representing USD in Pau, France. Something Tran has always wanted the opportunity to do.
“I am looking forward to using this opportunity as a learning experience,” Tran said. “I want to apply world views to what I do in the future.”
A Sioux Falls native, Tran has had the advantages living in South Dakota provide, because her parents immigrated to the United States just before Tran was born.
“My biggest reason for applying for it was because my parents came to America 24 years ago and they came with nothing,” Tran said. “They didn’t know the language, they didn’t know anybody, and they worked so hard. “
Like many immigrants before them, Tran’s parents had the best interest of their family at the heart of their decision to come to the U.S.
“They wanted to provide for their children and they wanted us to grow up and have opportunities.” Tran said.
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