The Beginning! by Cindy Tran

​Hello! My name is Cindy Tran and I am currently a senior attending Central High School. I was born and raised in Philly. Although I live in the Northeast, I’ve gone to school in the city since 5th grade, so over the years I’ve explored and familiarized myself with the city. My favorite spots are either Gira Green or the Rail Park! I learned about these green spaces over the summer through my Environmental Science professor. I ended up writing and op-ed on the positive effects of green spaces in large, dense cities like Philly and have been intrigued by green spaces ever since.

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Rail Park

Cira Green

​Some fun facts about me are that I'm extremely clumsy and trip over my own feet more often than I'd like, but ironically the only sport I actively participate in is figure skating. I also love to volunteer, especially at community events like marathons (which I've kept my Saturday mornings free for). A big part of my life is the college access program I am part of, called Philadelphia Futures, aimed towards helping low-income, first generation to college students (this program honestly changed my life.)

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I love to try new things, so I have a lot of interests! I’m passionate about all types of art, ranging from visual arts (painting, sketching) to crafts (crocheting, knitting), woodwork, sculpture, and even video editing. Because I have so many interests, I attempted to narrow down the things I like to prepare for my future career by trying out clubs and different activities, knocking out the ones I didn’t like. I was in a club focused on studio production, learned about history with the National parks Service, joined a Law and Justice club, and Girls Who Code. This plan backfired as I enjoyed all these activities, and have found myself stuck on what I should do next. My journey of discovering what my future may be is also one of the reasons I decided to join TRIP. I work best with hands-on learning, and I want to continue growing in the field of STEM. This year, I wasn't able to fit a science class into my schedule but I still wanted a set time that I could dedicate to improving my science skills. Truthfully, I always struggled trying to understand concepts in my previous science classes, but when these concepts were actually applied (in lab experiments) they made much more sense in my brain. 

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Two weeks of TRIP have already passed, and I hate to admit that I’ve spent too much of that time looking at larvae munch away. I’m excited to continue on this journey!