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Meet BSN student Cindy Tran. An a cappella singer with hyper-flexible fingers who adores penguins and flowers (especially the yellow Mai flower, used to celebrate Lunar New Year) who is the first nurse in her family (though her maternal grandfather served as a medic during the Vietnam war). Earned an award in preschool for being caring.

A Northern Virginia Community College graduate who began as a biology major during COVID but transitioned to nursing and entered UVA through the school's 3-Year Transfer program. A research intern for social and behavioral scientist Ishan Williams and a future psychiatric nurse practitioner. In the mid-2000s, she shook President Barack Obama’s hand in her hometown of Arlington, VA, when he visited her second grade classroom. Co-founder of the Asian American Pacific Islander Nursing Student Association to build community and benefit the School.

Why Nursing?

“I have many reasons! The biggest three, are, though, that practically, I wanted to find a job that could support my family after graduating. Nursing offers that. I’m from a low-income family and with my parents at retirement age, I needed something that will provide for them.”

“Second, I started community college to try and figure out what I wanted to do without feeling too many financial consequences if I ended up switching around. I’ve always liked and been good at biology and psychology, both passions of mine that I wanted to somehow combine. I was a biology major for about a week at NVCC. However, I thought about what I wanted and weighed the practicality of things— then came to nursing. Now, I am determined to be be a psychiatric nurse practitioner as soon as possible.

“Third, I’ve witnessed the effect of mental health and psychiatric issues on those dearest to me, and those in my community. That’s what inspires me. What better way to help them than directly aiding in their health? Psychiatric patients interest and engage me. Once I become a psych mental health NP, I want to someday open up my own practice. I especially want to offer to a community with a large Asian population given that those were the people I grew up and observed suffering around me.”

Her Early Path Into Nursing

“It was quite the adventure! I went into NVCC after COVID-19 to cut costs on tuition while also give myself time to figure stuff out. After being a biology major, I switched to a general health specialization major, pre-nursing basically, to complete my pre-requisites and general education requirements. I earned an associates degree before transferring to UVA."

“Initially, I thought I’d apply to the Accelerated BSN program, but decided the 3-year transfer BSN was more manageable because I didn’t want to take summer classes (however, huge respect to the ABSNs!). Also, nursing school is challenging. After seeing UVA's statistics (the best in Virginia!), I decided it was worth it let myself stay another year. I thank the person I was a year ago for making that decision. I also chose UVA because when I went to tour, I had a good feeling for the faculty and the School. I thank the person I was a year ago for making that decision."

“And it's been an amazing experience so far. I’ve done a lot and always feel so supported. Some of my closest friends sit next to me in every class. We quite literally put blood, sweat, tears, and saline together as we struggle together until graduation. I’m really grateful for the people I’ve met here.”

The Kind of Nurse She Ultimately Wants to Be

“I want to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner, probably working with adolescent or younger adults and maybe being on a psych ward or psych unit. I've thought about becoming a travel nurse and experience how that is for a few years while figuring out where I want to end up. But no matter where I end up, I want to be a nurse that patients can feel respected and supported by."

Her Favorite Clinical Rotations

“I’ve gotten a little something from each clinical I've been in. My first clinical rotation really helped build the foundation of my practice and to hold myself up to a standard. This semester, my clinical challenges me—it’s every Saturday at a local hospital about a 35-40 minute drive away—which, despite being hard, has really strengthened my confidence in what I am capable of. A clinical that caught me off guard was labor and delivery. I came to it not really interested but found, after being there for a semester, that I really enjoyed it. That was really due to the clinical instructor and the people in my clinical group, who are truly some of the most considerate and sweetest people I have ever worked with. I hope labor and delivery will be there for me if things somehow don't work out.”

The School in a Word

“COMMUNITY. I feel like the School of Nursing is its own little community within UVA. You get really close to those you do clinicals and classes with. The faculty are always there to support you. The organizations are also important and I’m grateful they’re here. I co-founded the Asian American Pacific Islander Nursing Student Association (@AAPINSA_UVA on Instagram) with my great friend when we were incoming transfer students lost and eager to feel like we belonged. However, it didn't take long to feel that belonging! Now we have an amazing team that I couldn’t ask for more."

“The School of Nursing really makes you feel comfortable, warm, and at home. I hope people considering coming here really take a chance on it. I’ve met some of the best people here and I hope another aspiring nursing student can also enjoy what I had the pleasure of experiencing.”