Meet Our Scholars
Ryan Tran
State University of New York Community College, Adirondack
Information Technology, Cybersecurity
He/Him/His
BIPOC
Ryan Tran is a transgender, first-generation Vietnamese-American student with a passion for technology, digital art, and reptiles. While initially based out of West Florida, his family moved states every two-three years for most of his life due to his father’s travel nursing job. Due to constant instability, the only roots he could maintain were his tight-knit immediate family unit. By age 14, Ryan had realized that he was queer, but continued to live in the closet until adulthood out of fear of what his religious childhood friends and family in the South might think. At age 18, Ryan ran away from his home in West Florida in the night, abandoning his life with his family to live with his partner in upstate New York. After many emotional months of therapy and growing, Ryan is now openly queer and flourishing. He often acts as an outlet for other closeted queer individuals that he grew up with and happily gives them advice and encouragement. Ryan hopes to break into tech and become a queer voice within the industry. He also hopes his success inspires others around him to make a leap of faith.