AAPI Spotlight: Kim Tran

Meet Kim, Lead Talent Acquisition Partner at one of our Supply Chain clients based in Michigan.

Kim was born two months after the fall of Saigon at a refugee camp in Oceanside – San Diego California (Camp Pendleton).

“My sisters and my parents ran from a country falling apart around them. My mom was 7 months pregnant with me, sailing on a sinking ship to a future that was unknown,” she said. “Being the first born American citizen and first generation Vietnamese American, along with my younger brother, we hold the values, traditions, integrity and much more that was taught many generations before me to a new country and new life my parents gave us.”

“These past couple of years have been tough for the AAPI community,” she said when asked what she would want others to learn about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage. “We are resilient, we are humble and we stand together in solidarity. There is more to the AAPI community than Boba Tea, Anime or K-Pop. I encourage you to invite your AAPI friends/colleagues for a meal. Listen and learn about their stories, their struggles, their resilience and their voice. Every one of us in the AAPI community has a different story from being American born, children of refugees, an adoptee and many others. Learn about the true AAPI culture from the people that live it every day.”

Kim is also extremely active in her Grand Rapids community. “I’m an advocate for the AAPI community here in Grand Rapids,” she says. “We wanted to make sure that our elders have enough to eat by delivering bags of rice to their homes to coordinating food drives, making sure our community had enough food in their homes during the pandemic and encouraging the next generation of young AAPI to use the voice that past generations did not use.”

“The AAPI community is very community focused. We take care of each other, give when we can, and stand together as one.” – Kim Tran