METRANS On the Move, the METRANS weekly student news and events e-bulletin, welcomes its new editor-in-chief.

Second-year USC Price Master of Planning student Rui Zhang will be taking over supervision of all content sourcing and publication for the newsletter, following the graduation of 2016-2017 editor-in-chief Kaitlyn Zhang (no relation but quite a cool coincidence). Rui is entering this new role with abundant prior experience in publications editing, research support, and event coordination with METRANS.  “Rui has been a rising star at METRANS over the past year.  She has assumed increasingly responsible roles with grace and determination, and we are thrilled to see her take on this new role.” said METRANS Associate Director, Victoria Deguzman.

This new experience will serve her well; in addition to editing and curating content, chairing the newsletter staff involves managing communications and content, and well as a large pool of student writers.

In her own words, “I love every element of this job…I always consider myself a coordination person. I keep promoting METRANS and our newsletter on different occasions since I’m so proud of everything and everyone here!”  

Rui Zhang and METRANS Director Genevieve Giuliano

Photo by Xize Wang

Rui has also recently begun an internship at Foothill Transit, a frequent METRANS field trip collaborator and a longtime supporter of our programs, students, and alums. Foothill Transit, a joint-powers authority of 21 LA County cities in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, is one of Southern California’s oldest transit agencies – transporting 14 million passengers each year. Rui will start at Foothill as a finance intern, assisting with the agency’s upcoming update to its user fare structure, although she may undertake other administrative tasks as needed.

Rui shared that she strongly believes that her existing connections to Foothill Transit staff through METRANS and WTS-LA events made it possible for her to secure the position. About her near future at Foothill, Rui expresses hope that she can use the opportunity to learn more about the norms of transit service operation as well as teamwork dynamics. She has long-term ambitions to work on projects involving transit-oriented development (TOD) and urban rail connectivity.

Prior to USC, Rui earned her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Urban Planning at Wuhan University, China, and studied abroad in both Hong Kong and Bournemouth, UK.

About the Author

Griffin Kantz received his BS in Policy, Planning, and Development with a track focus in Sustainable Planning from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy in 2017. He worked at METRANS as a student assistant in both administration and research from 2015 and to his graduation. He can be reached by email at [email protected].