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Tram Phan

1x

Finalist

1x

Winner

Bio

I moved to Texas a few years ago, but California never left my mind. My dream is to attend a ‘University of California’ and go into the pre medical path. I want to be the first person in my family to graduate college. I have been volunteering at a women's clinic for two years , where I check patients in, hand out water, and sit with people who are scared. I also compete in HOSA Behavioral Health and help lead over twenty students as vice president. I collect data for disease research at UT Southwestern. I even did a NASA biomedical program where my team designed an AI stress-monitoring concept for astronauts. None of that felt like work. It just felt like me. I want to study psychology or neurobiology because I want to understand how fear and stress live in the body. I want to become a doctor, but not the kind who just writes prescriptions. I want to be the kind who sees people before asking for their story. Going to a UC would bring me closer to my family and closer to my future. I would be the first to wear a cap and gown, and the first to come back in a white coat.

Education

Tarrant County College District

Associate's degree program
2024 - 2026

James Bowie High School

High School
2023 - 2027

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

  • Majors of interest:

    • Biopsychology
  • Planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Medical Practice

    • Dream career goals:

    • Tutor

      Brighter Life Soulutions
      2024 – Present2 years
    • Sales Associate

      Hollister
      2025 – Present1 year

    Sports

    Dancing

    Club
    2020 – Present6 years

    Research

    • Neurobiology and Neurosciences

      UT Southwestern Medical Center — Data Collecter
      2026 – Present

    Arts

    • Independent

      Videography
      2024 – Present

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Women’s Metroplex Clinic — Administrative Volunteer
      2024 – Present

    Future Interests

    Advocacy

    Volunteering

    Entrepreneurship

    Bold.org No-Essay Top Friend Scholarship
    Women in Healthcare Scholarship
    My little sister has autism. Watching her struggle to communicate, to regulate, to be understood by a world that does not always have patience changed me. I started asking questions. Why does her brain work differently? What does she feel when she cannot find the words? How can I help her? Those questions led me to healthcare. Specifically, psychology and neurobiology. I want to understand how disorders develop, how the brain processes fear and stress, and how to help kids like my sister live fuller lives. But I am not waiting until college to start. I joined P-TECH, my school's early college program, to earn my associate degree early. I volunteer at a free women's clinic, checking patients in and providing support. One afternoon, a teenage girl walked in, gripping the counter with shaking hands. I did not ask what was wrong. I just said, "You don't have to tell me anything. Do you want to sit over there? I can bring you water." Before she left, she turned and said, "Thank you for not making me explain." That moment taught me that compassion is not about fixing people. It is about seeing them. As a woman in healthcare, I will bring something that cannot be taught: lived experience. I grew up low-income. Some months, the EBT card is the only thing keeping warm canned soup in our stomachs after my dad's back gives out. I know what it feels like to be scared of a medical bill. I know what it feels like to watch a family member struggle and have no one explain why. That is why I want to become a doctor who works with children with developmental and behavioral disorders. I want to help families who feel as lost as my immigrant mom did when my sister was first diagnosed. I want to work in community health clinics that serve low-income families. I want to help patients navigate health insurance and medical bills the same way I learned to navigate grocery budgets: carefully, creatively, and with dignity. Women bring unique strengths to healthcare. We listen differently. We ask different questions. We notice the small things, like a girl's shaking hands, a mom's tired eyes, a sister's silent frustration. I have been that girl. I have been that sister. Now I want to be the one who stays in the room. At UT Southwestern, I help collect CDC WONDER data for disease research. Good data leads to good health policy. Good policy helps real families, families like mine. There is a quote that stuck with me: "Your nervous system doesn't respond to talent. It responds to practice." Last year, I did not even make it past the Area conference for HOSA. I froze. So I trained differently. This year, as Vice President of my school’s HOSA chapter, I helped lead more than 20 students, and I myself placed second in the state under Behavioral Health. I am not waiting to make a difference. I am already volunteering, researching, and leading. But I need this scholarship to keep going. My dad built things with his hands. I want to build something with my education. A career. A future. A different kind of life for my family. And then I want to come back and help other young women do the same. That is why I chose healthcare. That is how I will make a difference as a woman in this field.