When Phung Tran joined Intel in 2015 as an intern, it didn’t just mark the start of her professional career. It was the summit of an educational journey that started when she was a child working on her family’s farm in central Vietnam.
Tran, an engineering manager based in Ho Chi Minh City, is the global winner of the 2024 Gordon Moore Hero Award. This prestigious award – formerly known as the Intel Involved Hero Award – recognizes Intel volunteers who demonstrate extraordinary commitment to their communities.
Tran was selected as this year’s winner for her transformative leadership with Sunflower Mission, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the lives of Vietnamese individuals through educational support and leadership development. Since 2015, Tran has played a crucial role in the Sponsor a Student (SAS) scholarship program, and her efforts have helped yield remarkable outcomes, with more than 1,200 scholarships awarded, enhanced graduation rates, and successful job placements for graduates.
Giving back to her roots
Tran grew up in a remote village in Vietnam. As a young girl, getting an education seemed like a farfetched dream – the nearest schools were miles away, and her parents needed as much help as they could get on the farm to make a living.
That all changed in 2002 when Sunflower Mission built its first elementary school in Tran’s village. Tran attended fourth and fifth grade at Sunflower Mission’s school. She went on to attend secondary school and university – all thanks to a scholarship from Sunflower Mission.
The financial support was crucial, Tran said, but the mentorship and sense of community were the real keys to her educational success – especially when she moved to southern Vietnam for university, away from friends and relatives.
This very sense of community is what drove Tran to give back to the organization that raised her. It was Sunflower Mission that empowered her to attend engineering college in Vietnam, pursue a career in STEM and become the engineering manager that she is at Intel today.
“Sunflower Mission is like a second family – it means a lot to me and is the reason why I want to be able to give the same support to others like me,” Tran said.
After graduating, Tran began volunteering with Sunflower Mission’s Sponsor a Student program, running the selection process for scholarship recipients and serving as a mentor, guiding students through their educational journey and beyond.
Finding hope through hard times
From securing funding to sponsor students to redesigning the selection process to be more equitable, while helping mentees navigate education through the COVID-19 pandemic, Tran’s work at Sunflower Mission was no easy task. What Tran says keeps her and her peers at Sunflower Mission going is the human connection and lifelong impact of their work.
“When I started working with SAS, I mentored only four or five students – so the connection between us was very close,” said Tran. “Many of these students grew up in situations even more difficult than mine, but they tried their best to go to school and become better people after graduating.”
Since she started volunteering nearly 10 years ago, some of Tran’s first mentees have grown up to become doctors and teachers. And many have returned to the organization to contribute their time by becoming mentors and leaders.
One of Tran’s previous mentees – and a current SAS leader – could not express his gratitude enough for Tran.
“Thanks to her guidance, advice, and the sharing of knowledge, soft skills and life experiences, a country boy like myself has gained much stronger self-confidence in an unfamiliar environment,” he said. “With her support, four years of university life have passed by smoothly, and I am now embarking on a promising career.”
Tran, who is currently on maternity leave from her work at Intel, even mentioned how her past mentees have supported her through her pregnancy journey.
“I’m an engineer, so I don’t have knowledge about medicine, the hospital or things related to maternity,” said Tran. “But one of my students studied medicine and became a doctor, so after I told them about some problems I was experiencing, they shared their knowledge to help me overcome my difficulties.”
These meaningful relationships not only exemplify the power of supporting a good education, but the deep, familial bond between mentors and mentees at Sunflower Mission.
“Tran has always shown her passion in giving back to the community,” said her manager at Intel, Hoang Nam Tran. “Her story is truly inspiring, and a great example of how community service can make a profound impact on people’s lives and careers.”
From left: Tran, Hoang Nam (Vietnam HVE Manager); Tran, Phung T (HVE Engineering Manager); Quach, Vinh (Community Engagement Manager)
Hero of the Year is more than an honor
As a part of the Gordon Moore Hero of the Year award, the Intel Foundation will donate $20,000 in Tran’s honor to support Sunflower Mission and the SAS program. Tran hopes these funds will allow Sunflower Mission to build a library and more schools, and to expand the reach and longevity of the SAS program.
When asked what winning the award means to her, Tran emphasized how proud she is to honor Gordon Moore’s values, which Intel has kept alive to this day.
“It’s very special that Intel dedicates so much money and resources to volunteering,” said Tran, who has been a proponent of community service at Intel for many years and has been named “This value is one of the reasons why I have stayed at Intel so long.”
Tran would like to thank Intel, Intel Vietnam, the Intel Involved team, as well as her organization. “Even for this award,” Tran recounts, “my manager was the one to ask me, ‘Phung, why not submit this?’ And he helped me review and submit my nomination.”
And, of course, Tran knows that she could not have won this award without the support of the Sunflower Mission family.
“It is an absolute honor for me to be a part of the SM family, and I am deeply grateful from the bottom of my heart for all that SM has done for me, especially the SM Vietnam team.”
Get involved in your community
Whether it’s money, time or effort that you donate to others, Tran emphasized that it’s important to get involved and make an impact in the communities that matter to you.
“Whatever you try to give,” Tran said, “you will receive back in other ways.”