Kevin Truong (20 years old) has suffered from dwarfism since he was 5. His sister and mother share the condition.
Truong is a first-generation college student at the University of California, Berkeley.
In a now-viral LinkedIn posting, he revealed that he will be working for Credit Suisse, an investment bank.
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Kevin Truong was diagnosed at the age of 5 with dwarfism.
Stockton native, California native, has the same condition as his sister and mother, who are currently in high school.
Truong stated that he was subject to teasing from others, asking him why he is shorter than them. "In my early years it was quite difficult," Truong said.
Truong, 20 years old, comes from humble lands. His parents are Vietnamese immigrants. According to him, his mother is an ex-migrant from Vietnam and his father is a professional landscaper. He didn't know what vacations were, so he was astonished to discover that he could fly on his first trip.
Thanks to approximately $30,000 in tuition grants and scholarships, he estimates he receives each academic year, he is currently attending University of California, Berkeley.
Truong was a member of Capital Investments, Berkeley's student-run fund. This was his first exposure to Wall Street. He had already begun to apply to internship programs at several Wall Street banks by the end of his freshman year.
Credit Suisse was the only firm that reached out to arrange an interview. Truong refused to let this opportunity pass.
The Journey to Wall Street
Truong was part of a Diversity-Recruiting Program at Credit Suisse and he completed two internships. After completing his last internship this summer, Truong was offered a second opportunity to join the technology investment-banking coverage team after he graduates from Berkeley next year.
The news was shared in a now-viral LinkedIn post earlier this month. As of mid September, it had received more than 66,000 responses, mostly mixed thumbs-ups, hearts, or applause.
He wrote that three years ago, when I arrived in Cal, I was worried about how someone like myself, a first-generation college student with no connections and no business experience, would make it in a world dominated by students with stellar resumes and vast networks.
"Today, it is a happy day to report that I was wrong."
Finding employment for people with disabilities can be difficult.
In many industries, people with disabilities are still marginalized.
According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, just 18% of Americans with disabilities were employed in 2020. This is slightly less than the previous year. According to the BLS, individuals with disabilities are more likely to work in service-oriented areas, while as many as a third of them work part-time.
Wall Street is no exception, as it has struggled for decades to diversify its ranks. CNBC reported that only one floor broker is disabled-owned and women-owned on the New York Stock Exchange.
Truong stated, "Unfortunately, I haven’t met anyone within the finance community who has dwarfism." "We are still very much a minority."
Truong plans to eventually become an impact investor. Truong would be able to invest in social causes to continue the work he did as an advising fellow at the Berkeley chapter Matriculate, which is a non-profit organization that assists students from low income backgrounds to apply to university.
After graduating, Truong will join Credit Suisse to start at $100,000. Truong would like to travel and visit his family's homeland of Vietnam.
He said, "I know that my sister has always wanted to visit Hawaii," "I hope to take my sister there sometime in the future."
Truong, despite his visits to Vietnam and Hawaii, is now on a completely different path: The journey to Wall Street. Truong insists that no obstacle can stop him getting there.
