Hanh Went Back to School. Gradually.
Hanh Tran is currently studying Biomedical Engineering at NCSU
Hanh Tran is a Goldwater Scholar who is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University.
1.Dropping Out
Hanh joined Nursing school after High School. She dropped out because
She couldn’t afford it financially, and
Due to a lot of personal hardships.
2.She Wanted to Go Back…
After dropping out of Nursing School,
She kept telling herself that she would save up,
Put herself in a good position,
Go back to school, &
Figure out what she really wanted to do.
This goal seemed elusive. Something or the other kept her away from school.
It was beginning to look almost unrealistic to do.
So, she worked at Nail Salons. She worked a lot!
3.Joining The Military
Hanh joined the military to take advantage of the GI Bill.
She wanted to make it through four years, then
Go back to school and get an education.
She learned from the test scores, that she had an affinity for aviation, electronics.
Something she didn’t know till then!
Unfortunately, there was a medical issue and Hanh was received a medical discharge.
4.Biomedical Engineering, Not Nursing!
After the military discharge, Hahn felt down, depressed and self-pity.
Then one day, she snapped out of it with the revelation that she wanted to help people, especially with medical conditions that they feel is beyond their control.
She believed that a nurse could only help a few people at a time,
While a Biomedical and Health Sciences engineer could help hundreds or thousands of people, and make a bigger impact.
So Hanh focused on saving money and work towards that goal.
5.The First Step
Now, with the realization that she wanted to become a Biomedical Engineer, Hanh acknowledged her shortcomings in Math.
To address that, rather than jumping right back into school and struggling to catch up or keep up, she decided to ease her transition back into college.
She decided to take one course in Math at a local Community College.
She had saved up enough to take that course.
While this was stressful, she realized that going back to school & pursuing what she wanted wouldn’t be easy.
6.Then A Second Step, Then Another…
Hanh moved back to North Carolina where her family was from.
In 2021, she met an Advisor at a Community College, online;
He encouraged her to enroll in 4 classes.
She refused and took 1!
She used to work from 10am to 9 pm, and would do her assignments/studying during her breaks:
She would work on homework and watch lectures from 10pm-3am,
Go to bed around 5:30am, just to wake up at 9am to repeat this cycle.
In late 2021, she was awarded a scholarship at the Community College.
She then enrolled in 2 Community Colleges because the courses she wanted to take were not available in just one!
7.The Goldwater Scholarship
Her advisor introduced her to the Goldwater Scholarship.
Hanh hadn’t done any undergraduate research till then, so she wasn’t sure she would qualify for the Scholarship.
But, encouraged by her advisor, she applied.
She had a fascination for Diseases.
Her Research Proposal was about the early detection and prevention of African Trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness;
Basically what happens is, you have mosquitoes that are vectors for the certain virus, and oftentimes when you are infected with it, the the common symptoms are commonly mistaken for a common cold or flu.
And so her Research Proposal was on early detection of infection by introducing nanospheres into blood testing so that one can actually pinpoint whether there is the the infection or not the virus or not.
She won the Goldwater Scholarship!
8.On To 4-Year Program at NCSU
The Goldwater Scholarship and the Community College Scholarship opened doors for Hanh.
She started research at Clemson University and was accepted at North Carolina State University for Biomedical Engineering.
Hanh is well on her way to a College degree!
9.On with the Podcast
In this Episode, Hanh shares her road to undergraduate college, Dropping out of Nursing School, Going back to a Community College, Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, UG Research on Diseases, Transferring to NCSU for a 4-year degree program, and Advice for High Schoolers.
Listen to the Podcast with Hanh Tran of NCSU on her Undergraduate Journey.(44-Minute Listen).
What did you think of Hanh’s story?
Have a Great Week!
Venkat