We had the good fortune of connecting with Tran Tran and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tran, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I was born in Vietnam and moved to San Diego when I was around a year old. I grew up in City Heights the melting pot of Southeast Diego, where I am surrounded by many immigrants and refugees and exposed to so much culture and history. My favorite way to connect to my Vietnamese upbringing is through the taste of food. I am always on the lookout to try new restaurants serving traditional and also fusion Asian dishes. I run a foodinstagram account @TablewithTran and also had a phở TikTok that blew up with 18million views, and I hope to document all my food adventures. Finishing up my last year at San Diego State University, my goal is to pursue graduate school to aspire to work within the community specifically City Heights to help those that are vulnerable and marginalized, I want to be able to help first-generation college students by allocating resources to guide them to the pathway of college success.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
During my first year of college, I started my own business, @EnhancedbyTran, where I offer services like lash extensions, brow lamination, and toothgems; EnhancedbyTran. Through this journey, I have learned so many new skills and values that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and have also been able to connect with my own creative self. At first, I was really nervous to take the leap of starting my own business, but I realized that being comfortable will not always bring me new opportunities, so I need to step out of my comfort zone and get so much support from those around me. It was not easy and has also been really hard to balance considering the fact that I also have two other jobs and am also a full-time college student. It is emotionally and physically a lot at times, but I am very grateful to be where I am today and how much I have done and everyone I have met during this journey including making relationships with my clients. I just turned 21 so sometimes I just want to go out and have fun and soak up my youth, but I have a lot of roles and responsibilities I have to attain too. I realized that having the small moments to practice self-care activities even for as little as 5 minutes a day will be more beneficial than overall skipping the small things I like to do due to time management conflicts. Through EnhancedbyTran, I was also able to give back to my community. I have hosted fundraisers where a percentage of my services proceeds would go to the non-profit organization, FeedingDaygo and MarchForBlackWomanSD (@M4BWSD) , and I have also hosted school supply drives to help my neighborhood elementary school and have also teamed up with LaurenBallowHair to sponsor a Somalian refugee family of nine for the holidays. One of the biggest takeaways I learned is that networking is so important and key. Building strong relationships with those around me during the journey has allowed me to thrive in my environment, through different lenses and experiences I have gained so much knowledge and gained good mentoring and advice, but I also have to remind myself that I don’t need validation from others to thrive because at the end of the day the person that knows me the best is myself.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For food places, I would take them to Tacos El Panson (https://www.yelp.com/biz/tacos-el-panson-san-diego) for the juiciest and tender flavor-packed tacos , Minh Ky (https://www.yelp.com/biz/minh-ky-chinese-restaurant-san-diego-2?osq=minh+ky) for the best wonton noodle soup, and Cake de Partie (https://www.yelp.com/biz/cake-de-partie-san-diego) for the best fluffy japanese pancakes and tom yum spaghetti! For drinks, I would go to Muchas Frutas (https://www.yelp.com/biz/mucha-fruta-san-diego?osq=muchas+frutas) in City Heights for fresh aqua fresca and smoothies.
My favorite view in San Diego has to be at Centennial Park to see downtown San Diego and the beautiful skyline.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shout out to the Educational,Partnerships,outreach & success department at SDSU, the faculty and my fellow step members at CEPOS that has made such a powerful impact in our community by empowering First-Generation Students to pursue a higher education through civic and academic engagement and cross-cultural exchange.

Instagram: AyeitsTran

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tran-tran-8a3089158/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=JHRwwXFCxDlG_TVZ7jwRIA

Other: Foodie Instagram: @TablewithTran Business Instagram: @EnhancedbyTran

Image Credits
Photos credits and affiliation from Feedingdaygo, PriceCommunityScholars, RealityChangers, EnhancedbyTran

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.