In four short years, Trang Tran ‘23 went from a foster care home in Vietnam to graduating from PSU summa cum laude with a degree in supply and logistics management. She recently landed a job as an operation associate at a wine company in Northwest Portland.
We asked Tran to reflect on her time at PSU and how it prepared her to enter the business world.
Why did you decide to major in supply chain management?
When I got to PSU, I really didn’t know what to study, but I always knew that I wanted to have my own business in the future, and I love math. There’s a lot of majors that have math — like accounting, finance and supply chain management. I like problem solving, and I like working to find ways to make things more efficient, and that is what all supply chains are about — solving problems and making everything efficient to move products.
What was it like being part of the business honors program?
It was a small cohort, around 30 people, and we took the same business classes together. We had the same goal. We wanted to work hard and we wanted to focus on school and be able to do well at school. Every month, we had a networking event where guest speakers from different businesses in Portland taught us about their businesses.
Were you involved in any extracurriculars or clubs as a student?
I was a coordinator for the Supply Chain and Logistic Management Association, and I was a coordinator for an organization for international students. I was really involved with international students because I was passionate about bringing all the international students together. We tried to create a community where people feel not alone because they are very far away from their home, and we want everybody to feel welcome and have friends.
What sticks out as an important memory from your time at PSU?
The thing that sticks with me is that I was able to be involved in a lot of roles at school. I had two jobs at the School of Business, and that is why I created a lot of connections with professors, and that’s how I have my mentors. As a coordinator for the organization of international students, I made friends from around the world. Now that I’ve graduated, I am able to have mentors whenever I have difficult decisions that I have to make or a future career decision. I have also stayed friends with friends from the international student cohort.
How did your mentors help you with your job search?
The School of Business has a mentor program. Throughout my last year, my mentor gave me advice. She looked at my resume, and she gave me advice about internships. I also asked the undergrad dean about internships and grad school options. I learned a lot from them about what I want in my career—what culture and everything I want my future career to look like.
What was your internship experience like?
When I was going to school, I had an internship that lasted for five months. I worked part-time for the internship and went to school full-time. It was a hard time for me, of course, but I was really proud that I was able to do it. I was a supply chain intern at a company in North Portland. They made windows, and I was able to manage inventory for them. At that internship, I was able to learn a lot of things that I wish that everybody could learn during school. I was able to apply everything I learned at school to the internship. It also made me realize that everything I learned at school is totally different in the outside world. It’s not applied one to on; it’s different. It really shaped my idea about school because when I came back to class I could use examples from work in my classroom, and that really benefited me a lot.
I had another internship at Keen footwear in the Pearl District. I worked for them for 10 weeks as a global logistic intern right after I graduated. It was in a footwear industry, and that’s what I want to go into. I’m passionate about footwear and athletics. The internship shaped my mind about what I want to do in the future. I had a great time at that internship, and it helped lead to my current job as well.
How do you think your time at PSU has helped prepare you for your career?
All of the classes that I have taken about supply chains, of course, shaped my mind, and I was able to use some of that for my supply chain internship. The connections that I built with people, the confidence that I gained every day, and the different roles I had at PSU helped me be open and be able to connect with people and communicate.
They also have resume and networking events at the School of Business. I was able to bring my resume there, and they helped me look over it and helped me tailor it. They provided a lot of events and activities that helped prepare me for my future career.
What is your advice for current PSU students?
I think that new students should get out there, join events, get to know people and be involved with school. That’s how I have all the mentors that support me , how I have connections with different students and how I built my confidence. I think that confidence helped me to get the job that I have right now. Just be yourself and join activities. Be out there. Connect with people.
Is there anything else about your story that you think people should know?
To come here to America is my dream come true. I had a dream of coming to America since I was 13, and I worked for that. When I asked my sponsor why she chose me to bring to America, she said it was the initiative that I took to get to know her and talk and want to practice English. That’s why she made it happen for me. I think you have to be able to take the initiative to go with your dream and try everything that you can. In Vietnam, I was living in a foster care home. Going to America seemed very impossible. But someone talked to me and said I should keep that dream, and that’s how it’s all happening. Just believe in the impossibility. Work hard toward it, and one day it’s going to happen somehow.