(Photo on the right: WTS Student Member Biying Zhao)

To help students make professional connections with transportation practitioners, METRANS encourages students to attend events and participate in programs held by the WTS Los Angeles Chapter (WTS-LA). Facilitated by corporate and individual sponsorships, local university students regularly enjoy complimentary attendance at chapter events and subsidized student memberships, and METRANS Assistant Director, Victoria Deguzman, serves as the student sponsorship coordinator. 

Biying Zhao is one of the students who took advantage of this valuable opportunity. “I am lucky and so grateful to my sponsor, Alexandra Spencer, Infrastructure Sector Publicist at Alexandra Spencer Public Relations and special advisor to WTS-LA, who funded my membership. I have now become a devoted member of WTS-LA, and I regularly attend and even assist with chapter events. I particularly enjoy helping with registration, which gives me the opportunity to greet the attendees as they arrive,” she shared.

As a student, attending WTS events has been extremely important to Zhao, helping her to expand both her horizons and her network. During WTS events, she has met and had the opportunity to talk with many professionals in the transportation industry, which has allowed her to keep up-to-date on news and achieve a more personal connection with people who have similar interests. “Networking is a great way to share ideas and knowledge,” she notes, “Whether it’s asking for feedback or discussing your point of view, it will help you expand your knowledge and allow you to explore things from another individual’s perspective. This provides you with an opportunity to learn from others’ experiences,” she added.  She encourages interested students to take advantage of the many benefits of being involved in WTS. 

To learn more about student opportunities to participate in WTS LA activities or about affordable opportunities to serve as a sponsor to a grateful student, please contact METRANS Assistant Director Victoria Deguzman at [email protected] or at (213) 821-1025.

About WTS-LA

WTS-LA is the Los Angeles chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar, or WTS. An international organization with more than 6,000 members—both women and men—WTS is dedicated to building the future of global transportation through the advancement of women. With its advocacy, WTS turns the glass ceiling into a career portal through professional programs, enhanced networking, and unparalleled access to industry and government leaders.  Learn more about WTS-LA here:  http://www.wtsinternational.org/losangeles//about-us/

About Biying Zhao

Zhao obtained her Master’s Degree at the University of Southern California this May, majoring in urban planning with a transportation concentration. She also holds a Certificate in Real Estate Development. Zhao received her Bachelor of Engineering degree in urban planning from Wuhan University, China. Along with Zhao’s background in urban design, transportation, and GIS, she has completed extensive research on various projects including site plans, traffic impact analysis, as well as spatial data analysis relating to transportation.  Zhao is also an intern at the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services. Her responsibilities there include tracking data and monitoring uses for street cleaning utilizing various programs including ArcGIS, Excel, and SQL query. Zhao is also responsible for creating and maintaining the ArcGIS databases of public facilities, pedestrian stairways, and overpasses/underpasses, and providing visualization tools such as maps to both city staff and the public.