METRANS student assistant Fred Chang received two graduation awards for excellent performance during his undergraduate studies at USC. The two honors are the Emery E. Olson Award and the Dean's Senior Merit Award. The Emery E. Olson Award, given to a student displaying excellence in scholarship and leadership potential, recognizes Chang’s contributions to METRANS Transportation Center, his groundbreaking establishment of the first ever USC Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA), and his outstanding accomplishments in providing numerous educational enrichment opportunities for students throughout the university, including field trips and firm visits. The Dean's Senior Merit Award celebrates his academic achievement during four years of study. It is awarded to graduating seniors with a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Chang was also chosen to be the official USC Price School banner bearer, leading other Price students at both the main commencement ceremony and at the Price satellite ceremony. Below are some photos of Chang receiving his awards and portraits with his proud parents, who traveled from China for the occasion.

Photos by Fred Chang

Chang felt extremely honored and humbled. He would like to thank Victoria Deguzman for recommending him for the Emery E. Olson Award, and for her support throughout his years at USC. He said: “I'm glad I was able to set up APA USC and also to expand METRANS' programs. I believe strongly in professional development and networking. They help you learn, allow you to become more open-minded, and sometimes may even land you an internship or job. I hope during my time at USC I was able to help students connect to mentors and professionals, providing them a route to future career path and success. As many have helped me while I was a student looking for directions and opportunities, I will now try to give back and help future generations of planners and engineers. So overall, how I felt: I'm very thankful and as long as I've made a difference for my peers, I would be glad to do it again and again.” Chang also has some suggestions for future grads: “I've said it many times, but don't stop networking. Treat networking as learning opportunities and reach out with a genuine interest to understand more deeply about our industry. Do not go with the intent and end goal of trying to get a job. That will be rude and would not get you far, and discourage professionals from wanting to interact with students.”

Chang has been working as a transportation planner at Iteris, Inc. in Downtown Los Angeles since his graduation last December.  He intends to carry on his career in transportation and is considering pursuing a Master’s degree.

Chang is now busy with multiple projects at Iteris. A major project he is currently working on is the Inglewood Transit Oriented Development study. Also with the opening of Expo Line Phase II, Chang and his colleges are hoping to win a project that will allow them to improve signal timing on the street-running segments of the Expo Line in Downtown LA, in order to speed up travel times.

Author Kaitlyn (Kenan) Zhang

Kaitlyn is a first-year Master of Public Policy (MPP) student attending the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. Her interests are in transportation policy, urban development, and economics. She is also working towards a certificate in Transportation Systems from the Viterbi School of Engineering, and is an active student member of and volunteer for WTS Los Angeles.