This is the final article in our special Meet Me in a Minute, International Weeks edition. If you’d like to be featured in our “Meet Me in a Minute” series, submit a story idea here.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, junior Andy Tran moved to America with his parents to pursue a better life when he was just two years old.

Tran doesn’t remember much about Germany before he left, but he still returns often to see the rest of his family.

“Germany is great country, and I am glad to be connected to it,” he said.

Tran returned to Germany two summers ago to visit his dad’s side of the family.

“Its always nice to see family, and it is an amazing thing to experience what another country has to offer. Everything is different. Food, ideals, transportation, music, housing, you name it. Even though it is different, it is still part of me and I embrace it.”

His parents, however, were not born in Germany.

“My parents were born in Vietnam and lived there for a long time, but then war broke out so they decided to leave to live with relatives in Germany. So while I was born in Germany, I still embrace and live with Vietnamese culture everyday. It is nice having so many different backgrounds as a person. It lets me experience many ways of life and culture.”

Tran is glad to be a part of so many different cultures and thinks that people should be more accepting of other peoples cultures.

“Just because someone doesn’t share the same background as you is no reason to treat them any differently. The sooner we embrace other cultures, the sooner we can come to accepting our differences, earning peace, and reaching equality.”