Tyson Tran Named a Finalist for the US Army-Pro Football Hall of Fame Award

Tyson Tran, a senior at Northern High School in Calvert County, has been named as one of 20 finalists for the US Army-Pro Football Hall of Fame Award.

The award is open to any high school sophomore, junior or senior in the country. The 20 finalists are selected from a pool of hundreds of applicants. They are chosen based off numerous different criterion, including athletic, academic and civic achievements.

Tran runs cross country, participates in both indoor and outdoor track, and also wrestles for Northern. He's involved with the Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry and is a member of Boy Scouts for America, recently earning his Eagle Scout badge.

Tran was selected to apply for the award by a group of teachers at Northern back in the winter. One day, Tran received a call from George Veras, the Executive Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Producer for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, to let him know that he had been selected as a finalist.

"I was ecstatic and didn't stop dancing for 20 minutes," Tran said.

While it's a true accomplishment for Tran to get selected, you don't have to talk to him for very long to understand why he got picked.

"I do all this volunteering because I know how well I have things. My life is easier than many others, so I want to try to make the lives of those less fortunate than me a little bit easier," Tran said. "Community service all around is a great thing, and I'll try my best to emphasize it more."

On April 20, Tran was recognized in front of the entire student body at Northern for being named a finalist. It was a special event, which featured a plethora of U.S. Army representatives, as well as an appearance by Veras.

At the ceremony, Tran was presented his award by former Washington Redskins defensive back and NFL Hall of Famer, Darrell Green.

"It was crazy and couldn't have been more exciting," Tran said. "It was great to meet Darrell Green and to get to share the whole experience with the entire school."

The excitement won't stop there for Tran.

He, along with the 19 other finalists, will be in Canton, OH for the enshrinement festivities for the NFL Class of 2016, which includes Brett Favre, Orlando Pace and Tony Dungy. While there, the finalists will get to attend a special luncheon in which the winner of the award will be announced.

The group will get to attend the actual enshrinement event, where they will be recognized during the event, which will be televised on ESPN. The weekend will end with the finalists attending the NFL's preseason opener between the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts.

It's sure to be a weekend to remember for Tran, who is a big Denver Broncos fan. While it's a weekend he's earned through all his good work, he knows he hasn't gotten here by himself.

"Like ninety percent of my speech was me thanking different people who have helped me out," Tran said. "My parents, my coaches, my teammates and my guidance counselors have all been great. Honestly, I can't say there's one person who has helped me more than others, I'm just so lucky to have all of them in my life."

Looking ahead, Tran will be attending the University of Maryland in the fall on an Air Force and ROTC scholarship. He plans to study biomedical engineering.