USC ITE Takes on the California Transportation Foundation Education Symposium

On November 7-8, 2024, two USC ITE members, Andrew Keefer and Lindsey Housinger,  were able to participate in the California Transportation Foundation's 29th annual Transportation Education Symposium in Fresno, CA. The symposium features a one-to-one ratio of students to professionals, pairing each student up with a mentor for the duration of the conference. The professionals came from a wide variety of jobs in the transportation field, ranging from public to private, large businesses to small ones. We are extremely thankful for each professional who took time away from their work and busy schedules to be our mentors for the weekend. 

After a four hour drive to Fresno, we woke up early to mingle with our mentors and get to know the other attendees. The event started with a warm welcome presentation with Caltrans District 6 Director Dianna Gomez followed by  an orientation from Fehr & Peers Principal Sarah Brandenberg. After, students and professionals participated in a “Speed Mentoring” session, going through 6 rounds of asking professionals about their careers and any advice they have for students. Intertwined, each student got their headshot taken by USC’s very own Professor Eric Shen. 

After lunch, students were introduced to the main event of the conference - the student team challenge. In groups of 5-6, students were tasked with creating a program that lowers transportation emitted greenhouse gasses by 2025. Each group met with each other's mentors to devise a presentation for the following morning, even getting a chance to interact with stakeholders in the process. The group project led to a long night of collaboration, with most students staying up well past midnight to put the final touches on their ideas. The next morning, each group gave a 15-minute presentation to convince the stakeholders to go through with their ideas. With no “right answer” each group got to let their creativity fly, with ideas from first-mile, last-mile connections to national electric rail systems, every student was able to put their touch on their presentations to impress the stakeholders. After lunch, students had one last chance to ask about career advice from an Ask Me Anything Panel. Once the AMA concluded, the top three groups were announced at the awards ceremony and the conference concluded with final goodbyes.

We want to thank every professional who volunteered their time to make this the best symposium possible. Special thanks to Mallory Fites for organizing the event and the entire CTF board. We had a wonderful time at this year's CTF!