Love and Support for Phung Tran

https://www.koco.com/article/police-identify-one-of-two-victims-found-stabbed-to-death-at-northwest-okc-home/37373298

On Saturday August 21st 2021, tragedy struck within the family of one of our valued brothers, Phung Tran. His father, mother and younger brother were all taken from him in a horrifying way. At the time, Phung was in Norman, where he lives to attend the University of Oklahoma, when a detective came to break the news of his family’s passing.

From the moment they came from Vietnam as immigrants, they resided in an apartment complex in a low-income area all throughout Phung’s life. Phung’s mom worked as a factory line worker, his dad worked at a pho restaurant, and his brother, Kenny, recently graduated highschool. His father may not have been in the picture for much of his life which led his mother to sacrifice everything for her two sons. The moment Phung turned 16, he realized he had a financial obligation for his family and became financially independent while supporting his family. Phung worked as a chef at a hotel, served and bussed at multiple restaurants throughout Oklahoma City, and at times held a multitude of jobs at once.

Phung is currently a 21 year-old, 4th year student studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma who relies on federal and state funding to pay for his school. As a student, he is active in campus life, maintains a high GPA, works multiple jobs, and builds meaningful relationships with his fraternity brothers. He is a well-respected brother and is currently serving as the President of Lambda Phi Epsilon.

This unfortunate event has forced Phung to take on the financial duties of his family’s mortgage payments, funeral costs, legal costs, as well as other expenses related to the loss of his family. Phung should not have to shoulder this financial burden while going through this devastating situation. We, the brothers of Lambda Phi Epsilon, empathize with our fellow brother in this tragedy, and we want to do everything and anything to help support Phung through this difficult time of his life.

As such, the brothers of Lambda Phi Epsilon at the University of Oklahoma have created this fundraiser to help Phung with funeral costs, mortgage payments (settling cost), legal costs, and other future finances associated with the loss of his family. If you would like to donate to alleviate the burden Phung now has to shoulder, it would be greatly appreciated.

“Phung Tran is hands down the most gifted leader, the hardest and most humble person I have ever met. I have known him since we were two years old and have been best friends ever since then. Phung is a brother to me. All he cares about is his family and taking care of them. Seeing him go through this breaks my heart and it’s just so wrong if he has to worry beyond the emotional toll. I do not want to see him worry any longer but rather, focus on healing” -Nelson Tran, a brother of Lambda Phi Epsilon

“Ever since Phung became my little bro, he has been nothing but the nicest guy I’ve known. He is selfless and strong willed with a kind heart. Phung has always been a family-first type of person, so he prioritizes family in everything he does. Losing one family member is already hard on its own, but to lose three of his family members is unimaginable. Seeing how he has been after the incident I am proud to see that he has been staying strong and still determined to finish college. That just shows how motivated Phung is to continue his legacy and to fulfill his mother’s dream of him completing college. With that being said, financial problems should be the least of his worries while his primary focus should be on his mental health and finishing up college.” - Chris Jeon, Phung’s Big Bro of Lambda Phi Epsilon