July 19, 2026 7p
(WGTD)---The sprawling cabbage fields in and around Somers are triggering childhood memories for Gateway’s new president. Veronique Tran is the daughter of Vietnamese peasants whose main crop in the country’s highlands was cabbage.
With the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975, the family emigrated to the United States. With the help of a sponsor, they landed in Lakewood, Colorado. "I didn't know English," Tran said in taping a future broadcast of WGTD's Fab Lab program. "There were a lot of tears--not understanding," Tran said of her first few weeks of kindergarten.
But a year later, Tran and her sister were called into the principal's office and given an important assignment: They were to serve as translators for another Vietnamese family that had moved into the school district.
Tran went on to excel in school, piling up degrees in chemical and bio-medical engineering, and work experiences that included a stint for Shell Oil in Michigan. She’s spent the last 20 years in academic administration, first at the university level then at community colleges.
Tran brings all of that to Gateway, including her deep belief in the power of education, first inspired by her parents. "I think for them it was their sacrifice of leaving the homeland but then placing all their hope in their two daughters," she said. "And we felt that like it was our responsibility even at a young age to be successful and the way you do that is through education."
Fab Lab is co-hosted by John Zehren, Gateway’s Industrial Design Fab Lab Coordinator; Steve Whitmoyer, Construction Sciences Instructor and WGTD's Scott Nelson.
-0-
FabLabDrTran.mp3