Andrew Diep-Tran – Fall 2020 Award Recipient

We are proud to announce that the first recipient of the Get Involved Award is Andrew Diep-Tran. The Get Involved Award seeks to recognize high school students who contribute in meaningful ways to the community. By doing so, we hope to inspire more teens to do good for their communities through volunteer work. This award is sponsored by San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame Quarterback Steve Young.

Andrew is a high school student in San Marcos, Southern California. He has a strong passion for entrepreneurship, economics, and the business side. However, at his high school, he noticed that there was underexposure in economics or business. So, he started his own initiative by creating FIBE (finance, investment, business, economics), a program that hoped to empower students in these fields.

Andrew started FIBE’s first pilot program through a club at his school. The club was a success and he continued to grow this initiative into operationEconomics International. Currently, operationEconomics International is running in six countries and five US States through various chapters. Locally, they have continued to expand their presence through economics and personal finance book drop off programs.

Through this project, Andrew has learned to manage, delegate tasks, and learn to interact with others. Long term, Andrew hopes to expand to more schools as well as social media presence in order to engage more teens and even adults. Additionally, he hopes to work on more sustainable ways to equalize economic access, especially to schools that do not provide these classes. By doing so, Andrew hopes to spearhead further change in school districts.

All in all, Andrew remarks that this project has been super empowering since he gets to see students learn and enjoy economics, while learning about the importance of it in our current situation. Additionally, meeting students from all around the world and learning about their culture and different perspectives has been amazing.

Through the Get Involved Award, we seek to recognize teens who take their passions and do good for their communities. Andrew is a prime example, as he has been able to take his love for entrepreneurship and economics, and use it to teach other students through practical applications. More information about operationEconomics International can be found at https://www.operationeconomics.org/. Watch his interview here. To apply for the Get Involved Award, go to tinyurl.com/gifaward2020. Applications close on December 19, 2020.