Hi,

My name Khoa Tran. I am fund raising for my family - my parents and myself to help us survive through our on-going misfortunes starting in September of 2023. The misfortunes included an unnamed medical condition which caused my mother to be paralyzed, visibly cataract being developed on my father’s eyes, and my current victimhood of a Pig Butchering scam.

(This is a picture of me and my parents in 2021, before all of our misfortunes started)

Since I became an adult, I have had a goal of keeping on trying harder and harder to help change the faith of my family - my parents and myself through working and studying hard. Specifically, When my family first immigrated to the United States in 2016, my first year in San Diego was focused on helping my parents and younger sister financially by finding a job and improving my English as quickly as I could. I was able to find a minimum wage position at a company named Ameditech Inc which made drug-testing products and at the same time sought out English-as-a-Second-Language classes at various locations including the San Diego Mesa Community College. I knew that my parents, who neither knew English nor received any education higher than high school level, made the decision to immigrate to the US with the hope to provide me and my younger sister with a chance to acquire a better future. And, during this first year living in the United States, I also realized that if I came to the USA and did not pursue education, I would indeed get stuck in a loop working minimum-wage positions. Thus, after seeking information about how to attend community college with financial aid for months beforehand, I joined San Diego Mesa College as a half-time, first-generation college student, while still working in the same company in Spring of 2018. At first, taking subjects in English, the registration process for courses, and the ‘foreign’ academic system seemed strange and intimidating, however I was not going to waste this opportunity, so I braced myself and dedicated all my time after work and on the weekends to my coursework. Over the course of over three years, in Spring of 2021, I graduated from San Diego Mesa College with the highest honors in Associate of Arts, Major: Liberal Arts and Science: Mathematics and pre-Engineering-Mathematics.

Then, I successfully got transferred into University of California, San Diego majoring in Biochemistry in Fall of 2021. With my determination, although it was still during the end part of the COVID-19 pandemic, I continued to study hard, volunteer hard, seek out mentors, and work hard in various lab-related programs including virtual and in-person ones to better prepare for my future career.

Fortunately for my hard work, I graduated from University of California, San Diego with a Cum Laude honor, and a highest honor in Biochemistry in 2023.

During all of my years in the US since 2016, I have lived with the minimum expense, and saved up nearly every bit of work pay, fellowships, and scholarships which I was fortunate enough to achieve. I have lived with a simple mindset that if we try hard and be sincere enough, life will reward us with good karmas.

However, after my parents fell into severe illnesses and I felt under the pressure of life and loneliness, I mistakenly made the poor decision of laying my full trust on a person who I thought was destined to be my life partner just from chatting. And, this irreversible mistake cost me my whole life saving, and even a debt to be paid for the next three years. Specifically, the total loss amount was a total of $24000, which I would have to live with and be reminded of for the rest of my life. I have felt so despair, hopeless, and have struggled to remain my motivation of keeping on trying hard and harder during this tough time, when my parents are in need of financial support from me for monthly rental bills, upcoming cars’ insurance payment, upcoming medical bills for my mother medicines, and my father’s future cataract treatment. These are all basic and needed expenses which are required to be paid for us to gradually get back on our feet. It is important to me that I can have a chance to learn from my mistakes and keep on trying for my family.

The funds will firstly be used to pay for our upcoming cars’ insurance payment amounting roughly $2000-3000. Then, the funds will be used to pay for my mother’s medicine amounting between $500 and $2000, and my father’s eye cataract treatment which were advised to cost between $2000 and $7000 depending on the health insurance types this year. My wish is to at least not let my own financial mistakes and burden to affect my family recovery during this tough time. I appreciate every little help which my family can receive from you. Thank you for reading this far into the fund raising post for my family.

Best wishes,

Khoa Tran