Sixteen students from Pacific Southwest Region (PSR) University Transportation Center partner universities, including two METRANS student workers, were recently awarded California Planning Foundation scholarships.

The California Planning Foundation (CPF) was established by the American Planning Association (APA) California Chapter in 1970, with the goal of furthering the planning profession within the state of California. The Foundation generously awarded scholarships to a total of forty-four outstanding students from diverse backgrounds and academic interests, many of whom are focused on transportation planning and policy. Recipients were selected based on academic performance, financial need, commitment to increasing diversity within the profession, and an intent to contribute to the planning profession in California after graduation. Click here for more information about CPF and all that they do to support emerging planners throughout the state.

The 2020-2021 scholarship recipients, all in the last year of their programs, are incredibly grateful for the support from APA California and CPF. We congratulate all of the scholarship winners for their impressive achievements.  View the full list of winners here.

PSR Student Scholarship Recipients:

• Outstanding Student Award, Runner-Up ($3,000)

Carline Hua; University of California, Irvine

• Diversity in Planning Award ($3,000)

Laura Elaine Daza-Garcia; University of California, Los Angeles

• Richard H. Weaver Scholarship ($2,000)

Alejandro Gonzalez; University of California, Los Angeles

• California Planning Roundtable (CPR) Memorial Scholarship ($1,000)

Gerrlyn Gacao; University of California, Los Angeles

• David Wilcox Scholarship ($1,000)

Matt Phillips; University of California, Los Angeles

• Ken Milam Scholarship ($1,000)

Reaghan Murphy; METRANS Mentor Program Director; University of Southern California

• Paul Wack Sustainability Scholarship ($1,000)

Irene Takako Farr; University of California, Los Angeles

• Virginia Viado Memorial Scholarship ($1,000)

Khristian Decastro; University of California, Los Angeles

• Los Angeles Section Scholarship ($1,000 each)

Sabrina Alonso; University of Southern California

Danielle Dirksen: METRANS on the Move Lead; University of Southern California

Serena Lin; University of Southern California

Daniel Luu; University of California, Los Angeles

Edgar Mejia; University of California, Los Angeles

Lena Rogow; University of California, Los Angeles

• Orange Section ($1,000 each)

John Maldonado; University of California, Irvine

Veronica Morones; University of California, Irvine

We congratulate all of the scholarship recipients and sincerely thank CPF for this generous and valuable support of students.

About the Author:

Dan Lamere is a second-year Master of Urban Planning student at the USC Price School of Public Policy. He is a staff writer and project coordinator for the METRANS student team.