Exploring Transportation Profession Through CTF Mentorship and Team Building Exercise

On Thursday, November 16 and Friday, November 17, the California Transportation Foundation (CTF) hosted its 28th annual Education Symposium in Walnut Creek, California. Three USC ITE members, Brandon Sanchez, Emma Silverstein, and Kai Vincent, were nominated by the University to attend the symposium, which drew 43 junior and senior students from 19 universities across California along with over 40 transportation professionals. USC ITE faculty advisor Professor Eric Shen attended the symposium as a mentor and also served as the official photographer.

Brandon Sanchez with mentor David Cortez, Caltrans	Emma Silverstein
Kai Vincent with mentor Michael Navarro, Caltrans	Prof. Shen with mentee Ye Aung, Cal State LA

Beyond mentorship, networking, and camaraderie, the symposium’s key event was a Request for Proposals (RFPs) challenge that saw groups of six to seven students collaborating to brainstorm, design a proposal, and deliver a presentation in a matter of hours. Through mock stakeholder interviews and a funding committee, each group gathered feedback on their preliminary concepts from professionals working on similar projects in the real world! This year’s RFP came from the fictional United States Department of the Environment, Sustainability, and Transportation; the RFP offered one $100 million grant to a proposal that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050 while improving traffic safety and ensuring a more equitable transportation system. Students worked through Thursday evening to develop their proposals before giving a 15 minute presentation on Friday morning.

Students and mentors from the winning proposal team, Polka DoT

Following the team presentations, symposium participants were treated to a tour of GoMentum Station, a testing facility for connected and autonomous vehicles located on the now-decommissioned Concord Naval Weapons Station. With a significant amount of infrastructure and being isolated from public traffic, GoMentum Station is a unique and ideal testing ground for the next generation of vehicle technologies. Firms featured on the tour included Aurora Innovation, May Mobility, and Glydways.

USC participants pose in front of an Aurora Driver autonomous truck being tested at GoMentum Station

The CTF Education Symposium is an excellent venue for driven students to build connections and learn from others in a low stakes environment, all while having fun! Emma Silverstein remarked that “the most valuable part of CTF was the meals with the professionals,” where students and professionals could discuss “more specific questions…without time pressure from some sort of structured activity.” 

It was an honor to attend the CTF Education Symposium. I got to meet transportation professionals from not only all parts of California, but who have worked all around the world. Additionally, it was interesting to meet and connect with students from several universities across the state and learn about their views and solutions in transportation. This experience was unique from other symposiums I have been to because it had an equal amount of exposure to professionals and fellow students. —Brandon Sanchez

The CTF carries out its mission—“Recognize. Remember. Educate.”—through several programs each year, including an awards gala, a professional development forum, fundraising events, and the Education Symposium. For student attendees, the entire expense of attending the symposium is funded through generous donations and corporate sponsorships. We cannot thank the CTF volunteers enough for demonstrating their passion and dedication to the transportation industry.

Learn more about the CTF at https://www.the-ctf.org/. #ctfeducationsymposium #ctfnexgenleaders