Meet Phong: From San Diego to Tokyo’s Tech Scene

Phong Tran, a 19-year-old computer science major at San Diego Community College with a minor in Japanese, took his passion for tech and culture to new heights with a two-month internship in Tokyo through CRCC Asia. With a love for working out, snowboarding, and thrifting, Phong found himself redesigning web pages at LokaLingo and discovering a new career path in web development. Along the way, he made lifelong friends, traveled Japan, and even survived the summer heat!

Here’s Phong’s journey in his own words:

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background.

Hello, My name is Phong Tran and I’m currently a college student at San Diego Community College, majoring in computer science and minoring in Japanese Language. I went on a 2 month internship from May to July 2024. I’m 19 years old and some of my hobbies are working out, snowboarding, and thrifting clothes.

When I first heard about the CRCC Asia Program, It was actually through my friend Peter, who was in the program the semester before. He said that the program was very fun and really helped him open up his knowledge on Computer Science, enabled him to meet new people, and experience a lot of the culture.

I personally have always been interested in Japanese culture because I really like their honor code and their autonomy within society. It was a no-brainer for me to pick Tokyo because one, I like Japanese culture and was minoring in Japanese. Two, Japan is one of the leading places for tech. Three, It was a great excuse to have a long vacation in Japan.

2. Please give us some snippets of your internship tasks- What were the skills you learned and applied, and what were some of the most rewarding aspects of your internship? 

Some of my tasks during my internship was redesigning the web pages of my host company. My host company was LokaLingo and the boss, Ryan, was such a great person to have as a mentor. I was in charge of fixing and creating web pages on the new website. I think this experience of fixing and creating web pages was really rewarding because It opened up a new avenue of CS that I thought I would never do. Once I’ve done it, It gave me that reassurance that I want to be a web developer. 

3. What challenges or unexpected things did you encounter while working and living abroad? How did you overcome them? 

Some challenges were definitely the language barriers and the heat. Even though I know a little bit of Japanese, It wasn’t enough to have a full lengthy conversation with someone. I wanted to connect with people there on a personal level to meet new people, but I lack the knowledge to speak Japanese. Another thing was the heat. It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit and was 70% humid for ⅔ of my internship. I solved this by finding a route that was always indoors and in the shade.

4. How does the whole experience fit into your long-term career goals and aspirations? Did it in any way make you rethink your plans or offer you new insights and perspectives? 

The whole experience gave me a whole new outlook on my career and my personal life too. I’ve always liked computers so when I was picking my major for college I picked computer science because I found coding and creating software and stuff really interesting. Going through the internship, it made me want to switch to a different alley of CS, which is web development.

5. What was your experience like living in your host location? Was it your first time away from home for an extended period? How did immersing yourself in a different culture influence your personal and professional growth?

I immersed myself in daily life by going to as many networking events as possible. Not only are they good for creating a better networking portfolio, but it helped me connect with English-speaking people who have been there for a long time.

6. What were your favorite experiences outside of work? Did you participate in any cultural activities or events? Please share some that were most memorable or impactful for you. 

I went to lots of places outside of work. I had a group of friends who loved traveling so we planned trips to go to Nikko, Kyoto, Osaka, and Himeji. All of the trips were so fun because it was just a whole new environment with so much to do. Some cultural activities that CRCC held were the cultural exchange with school and the tea picking event. I found that the most rewarding was the cultural exchange with the schools because It really gave me insights on how the youth there learn and it was really funny to see them so shocked to see foreigners.

7. Did you form lasting connections with other interns or professionals during your time with CRCC Asia?

The group of friends I made in the internship will always be my friends because we went through alot with each other. A lot of partying and working. My intern group at my company was also really cool and I still keep in contact with them because even though the internship ended, I was invited to come on board the company and work with LokaLingo remote after the internship.

8. What advice would you give to future interns on making the most out of their CRCC Asia experience? What are the key takeaways from your CRCC Asia internship that you would like to share with others?

Just do everything. I think putting yourself out there as much as possible is never really a bad thing. You get to see what you like and what you don’t like and sometimes those experiences that you have will change your life.

9. Looking back, how do you feel about your decision to join CRCC Asia? Is there anything else you’d like to share about your CRCC Asia experience?

CRCC Asia was really a great experience for me because I got to see and simulate the life of a Japanese person. The friends I made along the way will always have a place in my heart as people who shared the same interests as me.