METRANS is pleased to announce that several transportation students from USC and CSULB are WTS-LA 2016 scholarship winners.  

WTS-LA began awarding scholarships in 1985 and has provided almost $1 million to deserving candidates since that time. This year $43,000 in scholarships were awarded to women throughout the Los Angeles region.

Ms. Sunghea Khil, a senior at the University of Southern California studying Policy, Planning, and Development received the Directors Scholarship. She was born in South Korea and raised in Seoul, Iowa, and California. Her academic and career interests include urban and transportation planning as well as international affairs. She enjoys traveling to explore different cities and her passion is to improve quality of lives for people and their communities through transportation planning and policy. When asked about how she felt about winning the 2016 WTS Directors’ Scholarship, she humbly said, “I am grateful and honored to have won such a prestigious scholarship that will help me achieve my goals and further explore my interests in transportation and domestic and international urban development.” USC Part-Time Lecturer Eric Shen recommended  Sunghea for the award and praised her saying, “She pushes herself by taking challenging classes rather than taking it easy.  She petitioned to enroll in my course this fall, titled "Traffic Engineering and Control" - a graduate level engineering class offered through the Viterbi School of Engineering at USC. She handles the course materials with enthusiasm, actively participates in discussions, and performs well alongside with other master students and PhD candidates in the class.” Sunghea was also a panel discussant during the Beijing Forum’s Global Governance in an Era of Change representing Youth Perspective in November 2016 in Beijing, China. The forum is a high-level international academic conference in humanity and social sciences, co-sponsored by Peking University, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education and the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies.

(Photo by Sunghea Khil)

Ms. Christine Song, winner of AECOM Richard G. Newman Scholarship, is a Progressive Degree Program student in the Viterbi School of Engineering, Data Informatics M.S. Program and in her final year of B.S. in Computer Science/Business Administration. After completing her Masters’ this Spring, she plans to commission as a Second Lieutenant Cyberspace Operations Officer or Operations Research Analyst in the US Air Force. She also plans on continuing her education in a joint urban planning and data analytics master’s degree to become well-versed in public policy, transportation, land-use law, and beyond. Christine says “This scholarship is an opportunity for me to focus on my graduate studies to ensure that I am best prepared as a student, as a future leader in my community of Los Angeles. This scholarship means that there are people who support my goals and believe in my ability to create positive change in transportation and planning using the technical capabilities and leadership skills I have been cultivating over the past four and a half years. This scholarship represents the faith that the community has in its students and in the future of Los Angeles.” Captain Luke Dinh, Operations Flight Commander, Air Force ROTC Detachment 060, recommended Christine for the scholarship and said, “Christine is a top tier officer candidate and a truly well rounded person. She ranks in the top 10% of our detachment, maintains an impressive 3.5 cumulative GPA in a challenging Data Informatics program, and is a model of fitness, scoring an average of 98% on her last 7 fitness tests.”

(Photo by Christine Song)

The winner of the Alexandra Spencer Transportation Communications Scholarship, Ms. Kenan Kaitlyn Zhang, is pursuing a Master of Public Policy and Graduate Certificate of Transportation Systems at USC. After her graduation in May 2017, she plans to work as a Transportation Planner and Consultant. This scholarship is specifically dedicated to students demonstrating excellence in transportation communication, in honor of the legacy of Ms. Spencer, who dedicated her career to this field.  Kaitlyn is the chief editor of the weekly METRANS transportation student news, METRANS on the Move.  When asked what this scholarship meant to her, she said “I feel really honored for receiving the scholarship. This scholarship for me is proof that I am doing something that is meaningful and encourages me to continue to work on perfecting it.” Victoria Deguzman, Associate Director of METRANS, who recommended Kenan for this scholarship, said “Kaitlyn has had a lifelong interest in advancing the quality of urban development worldwide.  Her enthusiasm is matched by her follow through, and after a short time as a volunteer at METRANS she was offered one of a small number of paid positions with the center as a student assistant.  She once again proved herself exemplary, and quickly advanced to a lead student assistant, setting in place programs and establishing programs and relationships between the center, students, practitioners, and governmental entities which have continued to this day.  She now has added chief editor to her list of skills and accomplishments.  Each week, without fail, Kaitlyn produces a high quality, comprehensive, and timely source of news and opportunities of interest and value to transportation students throughout the Los Angeles region, and we are all greatly benefit from her unwavering dedication to the transportation industry.”

(Photo by Kaitlyn Zhang)

Ms. Mai Farrag, a student of Masters of Science in Supply Chain Management at California State University, Long Beach, who won the second place in Myra L. Frank Graduate Scholarship says, "I am   truly humbled to have received this award. It is testament that hard work pays off and a signal to all women in the Logistics & Transportation sector that our success does not go unnoticed." She is currently working as the senior Manager for S&OP and Supply Chain Excellence at Guthy Renker after a long fruitful supply chain journey that lasted 8 years with P&G. After her graduation in December 2016, she aspires to work on developing and enabling a green supply chain that truly integrates environmental thinking with supply chain management and transportation systems. Her recommender, Mr. Thomas O’Brien, Executive Director of the Center for International Trade and Transportation at CSULB and Associate Director of the METRANS University Transportation Center, said “She shows evidence of a strong academic record, established career goals in transportation, and commitment to the transportation industry. Her work in the classroom stands out among her peers”.

(Photo by Mai Farrag)

METRANS heartily congratulates all the scholarship winners and wishes them all the success in their future endeavors.