The METRANS student staff at the University of Southern California would like to end the school year by congratulating all the doctoral, master, and undergraduate students who are graduating or have completed their rigorous programs. As finals end, we are all excited to move forward with our future career goals and summer plans, while also reflecting on our experiences as students. We asked some of our own student assistants to share their reflections on their time at USC.

Axel Hellman, METRANS Assistant Editor, is a progressive degree student pursuing his Master of Planning degree, while completing his Bachelor of Science in Policy, Planning and Development this year. He shares, “I will be interning with the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey over the summer.” He hopes to find a transportation planning job after graduating. During his time at USC, he has enjoyed living in the local neighborhood around USC. He loves the beautiful community with old houses, orange trees, nice people, and good food. Upon reflecting on his experiences as a student, he wishes that he had interned more during his undergraduate life, and encourages other students to do so.

Yurida Ramos, METRANS Event Coordinator, is ending her first year as a Master of Planning candidate at USC. Her plans for the summer are to work and improve her software skills in GIS and the Adobe suite. “I also want to dedicate time to explore Los Angeles and get to know better the area that I live in.” she notes. She has enjoyed working with people from diverse backgrounds and taking classes that will help her continue to advance professionally. Yurida shares, “My advice for students entering in the fall is to develop their time management skills. In the Master’s program we often have group assignments that require a lot of time. Students must be able to manage their time for individual assignments and internships as well as group projects.”

Kaitlyn (Kenan) Zhang, METRANS Assistant Editor, is completing her first year of the Master of Public Policy program at USC. She is currently seeking an internship related to the real estate or transportation fields. Additionally, she will consider taking a course on engineering project management and learning GIS on her spare time. “What I enjoyed the most about my time at USC is that I have had the chance to learn about subjects that are new to me,” she shares. Upon reflecting on her experiences, Kenan suggests, students should find an area of specialization in which they are interested. She feels that it has helped her more vigorously pursue her studies.

Shichun Hu, METRANS Mentor Program Coordinator, is an international student from China completing her first year of her Master of Industrial and System Engineering coursework at the Viterbi School of Engineering. She is uncertain about her plans for the summer, but hopes to take some time off to relax. She has enjoyed the perfect weather and the amazing diversity of people and ideas at USC. Upon reflection, Shichun comments, “I wish I had spent more time in English practice and daily communication. I think it is important to understand other people’s sense of humor in America.” She suggests that students completing a Master’s program learn computer programming and communication skills. She feels they are crucial for success in a future career.

Griffin Kantz, METRANS Marketing Assistant, is a third-year undergraduate student majoring Policy, Planning, and Development with a specialization in sustainable planning, working towards minors in both Mathematics and Spatial Studies. Griffin plans to continue pursuing his passion in transportation by attending three summer conferences. He will be assisting with the METRANS CUTC Summer Meeting in June, and he will be traveling to Albuquerque, New Mexico in July for the Institute of Transportation Engineers 2016 Western District Meeting and Anaheim, California for the ITE 2016 International Conference in August. Griffin has really enjoyed his studies and meeting professionals in the planning field during his time at USC. “Every case study in our planning classes is personally relevant to me and truly interesting, since they involve my home city,” he shares. Griffin notes, “I wish I could have attended more free lectures and attended more USC-sponsored events around town, particularly at museums and new development projects.” He encourages other students to see more of Los Angeles during their time here.

Arpita Sharma

Arpita Sharma is a dual Master of Public Policy and Master of Planning Candidate at the USC Price School. She is interested in issues of health inequities, sustainable land use development and active transportation. She expects to complete her degrees in May 2017. She can be reached at arpitasharma.net or at [email protected].