During her second year at UVA, Tran served as a resident adviser in the Metcalf House.
“She made me feel so supported during my first year and made my transition into UVA so much easier,” one of her residents, Beatrice Jung, said.
Inspired by Tran’s mentorship, Jung, a second-year economics and philosophy student, is now a resident adviser in Hancock House on Tran’s staff.
As part of UVA’s Housing & Residence Life, resident advisers take on a big responsibility. They are constantly on call to care for the residents in their hall, and they play a significant role in hall dynamics, forging connections among residents, hosting programs for dorm interactions and creating a sense of community during a vulnerable time.
“To me, the greatest indicator of success of any RA is seeing friendships form in your hall,” Tran said. “Watching all those connections is really, really rewarding. The whole reason I got involved with (Housing & Residence Life) was because I felt like the connections that I had during my first year were owed to the RAs in my building.”
“If I’m able to keep passing that down, that’s all that matters to me.”
Last summer, Tran was selected as a senior resident for the Bonnycastle-Hancock Association, and Jung was selected as one of her resident advisers.
“Dao inspired me to become a resident adviser,” Jung said. “She encouraged me to apply from the start and has continued to be a mentor for me.”
Tran’s experience as a leader in Housing & Residence Life at UVA highlights her desire to help people, which she hopes to continue as she explores a career in international relations.
Her desire to study international relations is also partially rooted in the experiences of her grandfather, who lived in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
“My grandfather was a prisoner of war,” Tran said. “So, he had a lot of stories about his experience in the Vietnam War, the aftermath of it and his refugee experience in general. ... So, I knew whatever I do in the future would somehow be related to this sort of familial history.”
Tran’s career goal is to work in the U.S. Department of Defense to contribute to defense policy, particularly in the treatment of civilians during times of conflict. “That’s something that is really important to me,” she said, “because it affected my family.”
Tran will graduate in May as a third-year student. She will work toward a master’s degree in international relations at Johns Hopkins University’s Washington, D.C.-based School of Advanced International Studies. But she will bring her UVA experience along.
