It's no surprise that Frederick Tran, who received his degree in critical languages and international studies in December 2017, can craft a good story. His prowess with words was recognized earlier this year with a UT System Regents' Outstanding Student Award in Arts and Humanities for short fiction. The honor fosters excellence in student performance, rewards exceptional students, stimulates the arts and humanities, and promotes continuous quality in education.
His winning story, "Airstrikes," is a short-fiction piece about a doctor who suffers a terrible loss while serving with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Yemen. News stories about bombings of MSF hospitals in Yemen were Tran's inspiration for the story.
This year, he was one of two students recognized by the selection committee, comprised of experts in creative writing from outside the UT System. Tran is the third UTA undergraduate to be honored.
"I couldn't have written this story without the knowledge I gained in the College of Liberal Arts—whether that be the writing styles I studied in Russian literature, the techniques we learned in creative writing, or the French I was fortunate to pick up through the language courses," Tran says. "[This award is] a testament to the outstanding faculty we have here at UTA."
