About Catherine
Catherine Thuy Minh Tran
born on 31 July 1993 in Toronto, Ontario
to Mr. Simon Tran and Mrs. Thuy Huong Nguyen.
She was born in the year of the Chicken, hence nicknamed by grandma as “Lil Chick”
Catherine was currently an excellent student at Woodbridge Collegiate Institute
She had maintained a straight-A record from all schools she attended.
From her very tender young age of 4, with her mother’s help, Catherine has learned how to read and developed reading as one of her hobbies. At 6, she was able to read a 200-page book. Her dad was doubtful; he then read it himself and tested her. She answered his questions satisfactorily. She loved to come to Chapter bookstore. At her birthdays, her parents asked relatives to give her Chapter Book gift cards. Catherine was gifted in Sciences. She loved to study and inquire about life, and human behaviors. At very early age, she has started to ruminate about the misery and losses that human have to suffer.
Catherine grew up in a big family. Her family is surrounded and loved by both her parents’ families. They are nurtured in Buddhist teachings and believe in philanthropic works to help unfortunate people. Her compassion toward less fortunate people was nurtured and enriched by her family.
Around 4 years old, Catherine played the piano for the first time and fell in love with this instrument. Under Mr. Phu Son’s teaching and guidance, Catherine won several awards in piano competitions. When she was 9 years old, after a trip back to Vietnam visiting the orphanages and seeing with her own eyes the handicapped and disable children, Catherine felt empathy with those who are less fortunate than herself. It was also the first time she asked her father permission to donate the money she received from the winning piano contests from her school to buy school supply for needy students. After hearing her wish, her father had tears welled up in his eyes and moved by her generosity and empathy. When she was 13, she confided in her parents that she worried sick about a friend of hers who was feeling lonely and thought of harming herself. Catherine wept and asked her parents how to help her friend overcome the difficult situation, and she did succeed in helping that friend.
Catherine has always been so caring and thoughtful. She thought of others before herself. Even at her young age and limited capacity, she was willing to spend her time and effort for others’ happiness. In one of her essays (Mr. Zoon at Pine Grove, Eighth grade), Catherine wrote, “If you want to achieve something, you must sacrifice something in return.” With that idea, Catherine has sacrificed many joyful things that girls her age always wanted so that she can focus in her study and strive to be a medical scientist who could find cures for diseases to help people. Catherine also wished she could play piano very well so that she can bring the joy of music to others. When she was 10 years old, she began enjoying listening to symphony before falling into sleep because, she said, symphony helped release her stress from studying so hard.
Catherine also was very proud of being Vietnamese and wanted to know more about her fatherland. She had selected the Vietnam War as her research topic to understand more about Vietnam, and the cause of the Vietnamese exodus. On her trip back to Vietnam when she was 15 years old, after seeing so many children her age or younger suffering, she resolved to study very well in order to make a lot of money and help those less fortunate kids. Unfortunately, on November 12, 2009, Catherine, with her pure heart and good-hearted dreams, left us for the better, eternal world. Her life on earth is short, but her pure heart and love toward others had guided her to live a full life with compassion.
Her parents and her sister Elizabeth are so proud of Catherine and will help fulfill her unaccomplished dreams.
