Sheng’ao (Victor) Xie has joined the METRANS team as Student Communication Assistant.  Victor is a first year Master of Planning Student at the USC Price School of Public Policy. “I am so happy to have the chance to work as the Student Communication Assistant at METRANS.  I have already written several news articles and announcements, which has helped me to better express myself and organize my thoughts, “Victor says.  “As an international student and a non-native speaker, one of my challenges is to succeed in an environment where English is the language I must use both in and out of class.  Both of these volunteer positions have helped me immensely with both my oral and my written communications skills.”

Victor is also looking forward to working closely with METRANS to learn more about transportation in both Los Angeles and across the globe, and to promote efficient and sustainable transit.  “While I was completing my bachelor’s degree, I witnessed firsthand the rapidly changing transportation system in Wuhan, China and the positive effect of these changes on the quality of our lives,” Victor explained.  “Intercity rails and subway systems dramatically shortened the commuting time to travel both within and between cities. They’re the original motivations for me to focus on transportation and the potential to improve the system to serve the communities.”

Besides transportation, Victor is also interested in economic development, GIS, and data analysis. He is an executive member of American Planning Association (APA) USC student chapter serving as APA-USC's representative to graduate students as well as to the Graduate Student Government (GSG) for funding applications.  When asked what he would most like others to know about him, Victor smiled and said, “I truly love communicating with people and always do my best to help people solve their problems.”

Victor encourages those who are interested in METRANS or APA-USC Chapter to contact him.  He can be reached at [email protected].