Student Spotlight: Caroline Tran

Meet Caroline from Everett, MA. She graduated this spring with dual majors in Microbiology and Public Health. Caroline comes from a family of immigrants from Vietnam and she grew up in a culturally diverse community, which instilled within her a strong need to advocate for others. 

Caroline started her UMass journey in the Bio-Pioneers residential academic program, which helped her meet other first-generation friends in life sciences. In her second semester, she decided to add Public Health as her secondary major because of her interest in population health and health equity.  

While at the UMass Amherst College of Natural Sciences, Caroline enjoyed the class Outbreak: Emerging Infectious Disease and Society (MICROBIO 450), as it allowed her to learn about new and upcoming outbreaks and cases. She also enjoyed Health Inequities (PUBHLTH 389) for its focus on research and preventative care. 

Outside of her studies, Caroline wore many hats: she worked as a resident assistant and a peer advisor at Commonwealth Honors College, and a medical assistant at University Health Services; she served as president of the Student National Medical Association’s UMass chapter; she worked with the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and SNMA-MAPS, a student-run group that provides support through mentoring and networking opportunities for pre-med and pre-health students from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine; and she was the vice president internal of the Kappa Phi Lambda sorority. In addition, she was honored as a 21st Century Leader for 2024 and won the Undergraduate Research Award from the Center for Research on Families. 

When deciding on schools, Caroline chose the College of Natural Sciences because it was one of the few colleges that had Microbiology as a major. “I knew I was interested in infectious diseases and wanted to gain laboratory skills,” she explained. “UMass is a huge research school and has some of the best facilities in the country!” 

Upon graduation, Carline began working at Boston Children's Hospital as a dermatology technician and is preparing her applications for medical school.