June 22, 2004
By Lynda Richardson
...Mr. Tran, a bookish 25-year-old (click here) with a slight frame who was born in Vietnam, achieved both goals -- and did he ever -- after growing up in crowded refugee camps in Thailand. At age 19, he arrived in New York with his family, carrying only clothing and 287 prized books. He barely spoke English but found a full-time job at Wankel's and studied full time at Hunter College.
By Lynda Richardson
...Mr. Tran, a bookish 25-year-old (click here) with a slight frame who was born in Vietnam, achieved both goals -- and did he ever -- after growing up in crowded refugee camps in Thailand. At age 19, he arrived in New York with his family, carrying only clothing and 287 prized books. He barely spoke English but found a full-time job at Wankel's and studied full time at Hunter College.
He recently graduated summa cum laude, with a 3.96 grade point average, receiving an unusual standing ovation from fellow graduates at Hunter, a public college where he stood out even among other first-generation immigrants for whom unbridled optimism and energy are common. Mr. Tran stood rigid, awestruck, on the stage of Radio City Music Hall, responding with a timid wave to his boss, Katherine Wankel, who cheered and jumped up and down in the audience. Mr. Tran heads to Harvard this fall to study for a doctorate in sociology and social policy financed by intensely competitive scholarships.
At Wankel's Hardware, on Third Avenue near 88th Street, Mr. Tran has attracted a steady stream of customers and strangers, some almost in tears, who have heard of his odyssey on National Public Radio and in local news reports. He still asks himself what he did to deserve this.
''I didn't have much expectation, much ambition, to be painfully honest,'' he said. ''I simply try my best to do any task given me.''...
