TRiO student achieves dream, full-ride scholarship to Stanford

With hard work and a little help along the way, one Mt. Hood student was able to achieve his dream.

Tuan Anh Tran Caraballo is a TRiO student at MHCC who recently was awarded a full-ride scholarship at Stanford University.

Caraballo was born and raised in Cuba. He traveled to America on his own to pursue his dream of getting into an Ivy League-caliber school, something he carried since childhood.

“My main reason was to kind of test myself and (see) that it was possible through hard work,” he said. “I wanted to prove to myself, my family and friends that anything is possible as long as you put in effort, time and hard work.”

Caraballo first arrived in Florida. He made his way to Oregon because there were not as many refugees and he could obtain more benefits, he said. “I really like Portland, and I want to come back when I’m done with school.”

He said that he misses Cuba, but does not plan to live there again. “I love Cuba and I will never deny my background, but the people’s mentality there doesn’t really match up with mine,” he said. “It’s like any other city where people like to show off.”

Caraballo applied to six universities. His hopes were set on Harvard, with Stanford his second choice. Caraballo had thought Cornell College was his best shot because it had the highest acceptance rate among the six schools.

However, Cornell was the first school to reject him, and he worried. “I thought if I couldn’t get Cornell, then I won’t get the other colleges,” he said. Harvard then turned him down. But, one day when Caraballo’s friend was reading over his emails for him, he saw a message from Stanford that said “Congratulations.”

“At first I thought my friend was kidding,” Caraballo said. When he saw it was real, he freaked out. “That day I planned on doing my (biology) lab and some other homework, but then I said forget that stuff, I’m going out and doing something fun.” He said his family and friends were all very happy for him.

Caraballo is currently working on his associate’s degree in science with an emphasis on biology. When he goes to Stanford, he hopes to continue to study biology and eventually go to medical school.

Eventually, he wants to start his own community clinic, he said. “I want to do it in a rural area. I don’t want to do it in a nice or fancy area, I want to work with poor people who are disadvantaged, and give back to the community.”

Caraballo attributes much of his success to Mt, Hood’s TRiO program. “I owe a lot to Nicci (Harwood, TRiO adviser),” he said. “She was with me every step of the way and helped me plan out my education. It was very time-consuming and a lot of work, but it was worth it.”

Harwood said Caraballo is the first person from the MHCC TRiO program to be accepted into an elite school such as Stanford. “To be honest, I wasn’t surprised,” she said. “The first day he came here he said that he wanted to go to an Ivy League-caliber school.”

In his down time, Caraballo likes to chill with his brother, friends, and girlfriend, who are also his roommates. “Every time I go home my friends and I will talk for like two hours,” he said. “I try and do all my work at school, because when I go home I will not be able to get anything done.”

Both Caraballo’s brother and girlfriend are from Cuba, as well. His girlfriend came to America with her family before he did, and convinced him to come, too. In turn, he convinced his brother to follow him last year.

While many might think schools such as Stanford will accept only those students who are very smart and rich, Caraballo says otherwise – and that he offers the proof.

“I always tell people, it’s not about being smart. I’m not smart or intelligent,” he said. “Being intelligent doesn’t get you far; what gets you far is hard work and setting up goals.”