Hi, I am Charlie Tran!

Family

I am the twelfth of fifteen children, consisting of 8 brothers and 6 sisters. My parents are from Vietnam, although I have never been. I am unfortunately very lacking in my Vietnamese. One day that will get better.

I was raised in Pensacola, Florida. I attended Lipscomb Elementary School, Brown Barge Middle School, and Pensacola High School’s (PHS) International Baccalaureate (IB) Program

University

I have a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Florida. I am currently a PhD Candidate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Florida.

Interests

Favorite Games

• Tales of Phantasia, Ni No Kuni, Riot Games (LOL, TFT, Valo), Maplestory.

Favorite Anime

• Frieren, Code Geass

Favorite Movies

• Pitch Perfect, 10 Things I Hate About You, Kung Fu Panda, Dark Knight.

Spiritual Practice

I’m a grateful practitioner of Buddhism. I am taught and took refuge under guidance from Master Tran at Quan Am Nam Hai Monastary in Panama City in 2026 with hopes of pursuing the bodhisattva path to help everyone in the world. While I have practiced in many backgrounds (ranging from Christianity, Hinduism, and general spiritual training), my lifestyle strongly follows a combination of traditional Vietnamese and Plum Village based teachings on mindfulness.

As many practitioners would resonate with, I grew up culturally Buddhist, but did not receive or understand any teachings. A large start of my practice began around 2024 during an academic travel to Guangzhou, China and parts of Sichuan, where I had an opportunity to travel around temples. I only recall seeing the compassionate Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra, and the three Buddhas so often, not knowing anything, not even who they were, simply bowing at them out of respect. At the end of my travel back to the US, I had some energy to want to learn more.