Thanks to the generous sponsorships of Myers & Sons Construction, Jacobs, Stantec, James Moore, Arthur Schurr, and Alexandra Spencer, six WTS-LA student members from the University of Southern California (USC) and California State University Long Beach attended a WTS-LA half-day professional development workshop.  The workshop was held on Saturday, July 16^th at USC , and was led by Katie Carr, a Principal at Fehr & Peers and Left Lane Advisors, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fehr & Peers.   I was fortunate to be one of those students.

The event was geared towards both professionals and students. It was an interactive, introspective, educational and fun way of learning tools for effective public speaking. Participants also learned about designing an effective elevator pitch, strategies for successful networking, and innovative practices for building relationships.

During the workshop, Carr introduced “DiSC”, a behavior assessment tool based on four different behavioral traits: dominance (D), influence (I), steadiness (S), and conscience ©. By rating a set of statements with scores between 1 to 4, attendees calculated their final scores of categories D, I, S and C. Most people have one of the four as their dominant DiSC style.

This exercise gave participants an in-depth understanding of how personalities can vary, and how people react to others’ personality and behavior. Through role play games and group discussion, attendees also gained insights into personal work styles and leadership styles, and improved challenge management skills, as well as how to become a better team player with a broad range of personalities.

The 4-hour training was short but effective. USC student Kaitlyn Zhang said, “I think this has been a productive morning. I got to take a second look at my own personality so that I know how to promote my strengths. Katie gave us some pointers on how to maintain a relationship, which was also very useful. I am glad that I have this information and will try to use it in my professional life.”

By sharing her own experiences, Carr also imparted a strategy of building an effective social network and developing a powerful elevator pitch. Her message is that in addition to being active, trustworthy, and patient, it is also of vital importance to consider individual personality types when attempting to build a lasting relationship with other people.  

Writer 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 is also an intern at the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services and an active WTS-LA student member.