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It is no secret that Tiffany Tran made her mark on Â鶹ÊÓƵ throughout her educational career. Additionally, it is no surprise she continues to do so as she furthers her education at the University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston.

A recent Â鶹ÊÓƵ graduate and former ambassador, Tran took a chance by submitting her application for a scholarship offered through Chick-Fil-A. “This is the first year that Chick-fil-A has given a scholarship out to the community members. Typically, people who get scholarships from Chick-fil-A have some sort of association with it. For example, people who work there could apply to get a scholarship. This year I found out that basically they wanted to do something to have a bigger outreach on the community as this is their 50th year, giving out scholarships,” said Tran.

 

It can be difficult to find financial support and scholarships for graduate students. However, this opportunity was open to high school seniors, undergraduates, and graduate students.

After many months of waiting, Tran thought the opportunity had passed, until she got an email asking for her to visit the headquarters in Atlanta for an interview. She was in for much more than that. “We were under the impression that we were just another group coming to interview. After we had a tour, they brought us into a studio and they sat us all down together and they said no matter what happens today, you all are winners. They surprised us on the spot letting us know that we won! They just wanted to bring us together out there and get a chance to get to know each other,” said Tran.

Tran competed against over 16,000 other applicants from across the nation. 60 of those were chosen as finalists. Chick-fil-A then brought in community leaders from across the nation to come look at these 60 applications. And then from there, they chose 13 winners.

Tran stated, “For me, I was in a state of shock when I found out that I won just because when I applied, I was just applying just to give it a shot. But I didn't really think that, you know, out of amongst that application pool of 16,000 that I would win.”

By winning this scholarship Tran will also be participating in the Chick-Fil-A leadership development program over the course of the next year. The Chick-Fil-A scholarship coordinators pair each of the winners with a mentor to guide the students in their professional development and learn how to can make a bigger impact in their careers and communities.

Tran attributes much of her success to Â鶹ÊÓƵ, its faculty and staff that supported her. “When I found out I won, I felt like the first thing that came to mind was just my experience from Lamar. Thanks to the support I had from faculty, staff and other students in my journey there, I felt that that contributed to me being able to win this scholarship. Now that I won, I can spread the good news about Lamar because, I think out of all the winners, I think I was the only one who did not attend an Ivy League,” said Tran.