By Claire McGranahan

When Tony Tran thinks about technology, he often finds himself thinking about people.

As a senior editor at Slate Magazine, Tran helps readers understand the ​tech​​​ shaping modern life. Yet, what fascinates him most is not the technology itself, but how it influences the ways people connect with one another.

One example is navigation. With GPS now built into nearly every smartphone and vehicle, most people can reach a destination without ever asking another person for help. While convenient, Tran wonders what is lost when those everyday interactions disappear.

“I've thought a lot about what we lose when that happens: the ability to be vulnerable to someone; to tell them, literally, I'm lost in the world,” he said. “I need your help and I need you to help me right now.”

That curiosity about language, communication, and belonging began taking shape during his time at the University of Iowa, where he learned that stories are rarely just about their surface subject. More often, they are about the ways people seek connection—with ideas, with communities, and with one another.

Finding his voice at Iowa

Tran arrived at Iowa from Sioux City knowing he wanted to study writing. Even before he enrolled, he felt a connection to the space the University of Iowa occupied.

“I remember just falling in love with the campus. Every professor I met was wonderful. The tour guide pointed out the Dey House to me; it was a place I wanted to go and just spend all my days in,” he said of the home of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

At Iowa, he majored in English and creative writing while also studying German, theater, and film. Exploring multiple disciplines helped him see language as more than a tool for communication—it was a way of understanding the world.

One experience, however, fundamentally changed how he approached his craft.

In a course taught by Department of English Associate Professor Inara Verzemnieks, students were required to keep notebooks documenting their thoughts on assigned readings. Tran admits he barely took the assignment seriously. When Verzemnieks collected the notebooks midway through the semester, his was mostly empty. When it was returned with a letter tucked inside, he avoided opening it for days.

Eventually, he read it.

“Tony Tran, this is such a disappointment,” he recalled her writing. “I know you're a good writer. ...What you've shown here is just an inability to meet your potential.”

The note was difficult to read, but it was exactly what he needed to hear.

Tran bought a new notebook, committed himself to the work, and filled its pages. By the end of the semester, Verzemnieks left another note: “If I could give this an A plus, I would.”

The experience taught him a lesson that continues to guide him today: meaningful growth comes from embracing the hard work rather than avoiding it.

The lessons Tran carried from Iowa extended beyond the classroom. In his study of the German language, he regularly attended Kaffeeklatsch, a weekly conversation gathering that brought people together through language. Years later, that experience would inspire him to create a similar space of his own.

Building community through language

As a Vietnamese American, he has spent years reflecting on identity and belonging. At times, he felt caught between cultures.

“For white people, I was too Asian. For Viet people, I was too American,” he wrote in an essay about reconnecting with his cultural roots.

As he grew older, Tran realized he was losing fluency in Vietnamese—his first language—and wanted a place to practice it with others. The inspiration came directly from his Iowa experience.

While studying German at Iowa, Tran regularly attended a weekly gathering to practice the language. Years later, he used that model to create Viet Coffee Chats in Chicago. Partnering with a local coffee shop, he invited anyone interested in speaking Vietnamese to join informal conversations.

“I was so nervous that first day that nobody was going to show up,” he said.

Instead, more than 20 people attended the first gathering. Today, monthly events regularly draw up to 30 participants.

What began as language practice has become a thriving community in which people connect with culture, heritage, and one another. The gatherings provide something many participants struggle to find elsewhere: a welcoming place to learn, make mistakes, and belong.

The same questions that motivated Viet Coffee Chats—how does language create community?, and how do people find belonging?—also shape Tran’s professional work.

A career built on curiosity

After graduating, Tran found his niche in storytelling​​​​. Today, as a senior editor at Slate, he works on stories that help readers understand how technology influences everyday life. Whether covering artificial intelligence, social platforms, or emerging digital trends, he is most interested in the human stories underneath them.

Early in his career, Tran worked as a freelancer, content writer, and SEO writer—roles that allowed him to develop his skills while earning a living. Many of those opportunities have become less common as companies increasingly turn to AI-generated content. Yet, his own thoughts on AI go beyond the impact on jobs: for Tran, writing is valuable because it teaches people how to think.

“Being a good writer means that you are somebody who knows how to think through different ​ideas​, different arguments, different perspectives,” he said.

While he believes AI is here to stay and can be useful for brainstorming or generating ideas, he argues that it cannot replace the intellectual growth that comes from struggling with ideas on your own.

“There's value in that struggle,” he said, "and in that tension is where you grow and where you learn the most.”

Those beliefs reflect lessons he first developed in Iowa’s English department, where professors challenged him to engage deeply with ideas rather than search for easy answers.

Lessons that endure

Whether he is editing stories for a national publication, or helping someone practice Vietnamese over coffee, Tran remains interested in the moments that bring people together.

That perspective was shaped at Iowa, where professors challenged him to reach his potential and where studying across disciplines taught him to see language as a bridge between people, cultures, and ideas.

His advice to current students is to embrace opportunities that challenge them and resist the temptation to take shortcuts through the learning process.

Reflecting on writing, Tran compares growth to exercise. The work can be frustrating, but the challenge itself creates lasting change.

“A person who knows how to express themselves through their words also knows how to put the world into perspective,” he said.

Years after leaving Iowa, that belief continues to guide his work. Whether exploring the impact of technology, building community through language, or helping readers understand a complex story, he remains focused on the same question: how do people find connection with one another?

For Tony Tran, the answer often begins with a conversation.​​​