Tran Receives APA Award, Facilitates White House Initiative Panel

Nellie Tran has experienced no shortage of milestones these past few months.

In the spring, she was promoted to full professor in the Department of Counseling and School Psychology, where she has taught for nearly 10 years. Soon after, she was tapped to serve as director of SDSU’s Center for Community Counseling and Engagement (CCCE).

And over the summer, Tran garnered recognition from both the American Psychological Association (APA) and the White House for her work as a researcher, mentor and community organizer to combat subtle forms of discrimination in schools and other institutional settings.

Charles and Shirley Thomas Award

In early July, Tran received the Charles and Shirley Thomas Award from the APA’s Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race. The award recognizes individuals who demonstrate significant contributions to the education and training of students of color as well as a professional presence within ethnic minority communities.

Tran, who is the former president of the Asian American Psychological Association, is an open book about the difficulties of her own path through academia as a woman of color, navigating racism, sexism and hostile environments along the way. Her goal, she says, is to help others facing similar circumstances succeed in the academy while staying “authentically themselves.”

“The way my mentoring has always worked is that people find me,” Tran said. “People who are in traumatizing, difficult, challenging situations in academia need to know they're not alone — and to know that there's a way to the other side. I think being so open about my own journey and how I made it to the other side — or how I continue to stay in the pit, so to speak — is why people come.”

Making the recognition particularly meaningful is the fact she was nominated by a former SDSU student mentee — Community-Based Block alumnus Kevin Yabes, who is currently a doctoral candidate at New Mexico State University.

“There are people who don't believe in themselves because the world told them that they are not that great,” Tran said. “I think our work together has always been about making sure Kevin knows he's brilliant.”

White House Initiative on AANHPI

Tran’s second milestone came later in the month when she headed to Washington, D.C. to participate in an event hosted by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. She facilitated a panel discussion with three other psychologists for a conversation on the impact of hate crimes and racism.

“I think it's exciting to know that people care about what's happening for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders,” she said. “I think I've been screaming a little bit at the top of my lungs for the last decade and I guess some of it is being heard, which makes me feel good. 

“Getting this invitation, I think, made me feel as though we have not been forgotten.”

Looking Ahead

As Fall semester commences, Tran is excited to tackle the new challenge of taking on the leadership of CCCE, an SDSU training clinic for counselors located in the heart of City Heights, the neighborhood Tran called home as a child. 

She is eager to use the clinic as a setting to conduct research, leverage partners to learn more about the needs of the community and build awareness of the center’s low cost-services.

“We have the clinical piece down, but I really want to connect the community to us,” she said. “That's the way it should flow right? You tell us what you need, and the experts in our college can offer the trainings and the tools.”