Be a World of Good
In a steam-filled Seattle tofu factory, heavy machinery screeched overhead and hot cauldrons haphazardly slid along the floor. Vy Tran and her mother hunched over the assembly line 鈥� day after day, week after week.
As time passed, Tran, 鈥�16, could only watch as her mother, like many of the factory鈥檚 employees, struggled with taxing mental and physical stress. But working in a factory was not a choice for the two of them.
Most people spend eight hours a day working. That鈥檚 33 percent of their day! I can鈥檛 think of anything more meaningful than making sure that 33 percent of our precious lives are fulfilling, efficient and without pain.
鈥� Vy Tran
In 2001, Tran and her family immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam. Shortly after they arrived, Tran鈥檚 father unexpectedly passed away, and her mother had to seek work to make ends meet. Soon, Tran had to join her. For almost two years, she spent hot, grueling evenings after school on the factory floor 鈥斅燽ut she excelled in her studies, motivated to someday make a difference for her mother and struggling workers like her.
After graduating from Seattle鈥檚 Franklin High School, Tran set off to study at the 天美影视传媒. She knew she wanted to help others live healthier lives, but she didn鈥檛 yet know which path to take.
鈥淲hat can I do to help?鈥�
It didn鈥檛 take Tran long to start finding her way. During her freshman year, she jumped at the opportunity to return to her homeland, and spent two weeks in rural Vietnam as a volunteer with the Vietnam Health Clinic. From triaging patients and assessing vision and dental health to providing patients鈥� prescriptions, she helped deliver general medical care and resources to over 2,000 villagers of Can Tho, Vietnam.
Despite the many smiles and thanks Tran received for her work, she couldn鈥檛 help but ask herself tough questions about the patients she aided:
鈥淲ho is going to provide this same care when we鈥檙e gone? Where do these people鈥檚 misfortunes stem from? How can they be avoided? What can I do to help and create sustainability in this process?鈥�
Revisiting the past
Back in Seattle, Tran decided to focus her efforts on improving poor work conditions. She changed her major to environmental health within the School of Public Health, and began preparing herself to make an impact as an occupational health worker.
She interned with the UW Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Tesoro Corp., focusing her research on worker stress factors like safety procedures and industrial hygiene 鈥� the same factors she and her mom had suffered from in the factory. With her daily work ranging from measuring stress in surveyed workers to monitoring for hazardous chemical leaks, Tran never lost sight of whom she was helping with her research and work.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 forget the conditions that we were working in. Seeing how it鈥檚 impacted my mom鈥檚 physical and mental health, it鈥檚 been pretty overwhelming,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 never wanted to see that again.鈥�
Happy, healthy work
After graduating from the UW in June, Tran embraced another opportunity in the name of creating a healthier workplace: She took a position as an environmental health and safety consultant in Google X鈥檚 Research Safety Team, where she supports projects such as Google鈥檚 Driverless Cars and Google Glass. In the future, Tran hopes to study occupational hygiene in graduate school as she continues to work and provide financial support to her family.
The Seattle tofu factory has since been shut down because of its many safety violations, but the health problems that Tran鈥檚 mother developed are lasting. While memories of her past may never disappear, Tran is glad she can apply her ever-growing skillset to improve occupational health.
鈥淢ost people spend eight hours a day working,鈥� says Tran. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 33 percent of their day! I can鈥檛 think of anything more meaningful than making sure that 33 percent of our precious lives are fulfilling, efficient and without pain.鈥�