Unfiltered Career Insights

Summer 2020 Training Program

In a new and unique summer program, Fehr & Peers shared knowledge and discussions with students and recent graduates about two of our greatest passions: transportation and improving communities. The “Unfiltered Career Insights: 2020 Summer Program” was our very first transportation consulting training program. A total of 25 participants from across the country volunteered to take part in the program as a way of preparing for their careers in transportation, whether at Fehr & Peers or elsewhere, hence the objective, “unfiltered” nature of the training.

Participants kicked off the program by contributing to an “unfiltered” question and answer session about transportation consulting, discussing how current events have shaped the planning industry, and exploring ways consultants can influence positive change. Next, they met every Friday for six weeks to experience training, exercises, and project examples to apply learning. Program members gained a deeper understanding of the technical and soft skills required to be an effective transportation consultant, explored career paths in the industry, and gained exposure to an array of skills and insights in the following key areas:

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Complete Streets Design

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Land Use & Transportation

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Communication & Visualization

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Shared Modes & Goods Movement

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The Future of Transportation

The program even offered the opportunity for real-world application by incorporating small-group collaboration to prepare a presentation responding to a mock Request for Proposal, complete with mock interviews. After completing the program, students had great insights to share about their experiences.

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It was a great transition from graduate school to the workplace and allowed me to shift my focus from theory to practice. Key program highlights included the opportunity to network with transportation professionals from across the country, as well as learning about recent transportation trends from leaders in the field.

Lupita Huerta

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I am appreciative for the professional experience in developing an RFP with an awesome team and a Fehr & Peers mentor. I am grateful to have learned the keys to becoming a successful transportation consultant.

Celeste Esparza

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The most impactful part of the program was seeing how important it is to work with people from different backgrounds. During the group activities and the RFP project, I saw how the different knowledge areas and strengths among my teammates complimented each other, filling in gaps in knowledge that we individually had.

Vanessa See

Nearly 40 Fehr & Peers staff members participated in the program and were available along the way to provide training, offer guidance, and answer questions. We hope this program helped offer a way for these students and recent graduates to meet some of their future industry peers and build their professional networks. At the same time, we valued it as an opportunity to share knowledge with others passionate about the industry, even in these challenging times.

“Unfiltered Career Insights” began in 2016 as a Fehr & Peers webinar-based forum for up-and-coming transportation consultants to learn more about the industry and have some of their foremost questions answered. With the intentions of helping to guide students toward finding the career path best suited to their interests and preparing them to put their best forward, our commitment was to make sure those answers were objective, transparent, and unbiased – in other words, unfiltered. With that spirit in mind, we reinvented the series and paired it with our first training program. We’re now surveying the first program participants to see how we can improve and structure the program’s future, or possibly even expand it to provide more opportunities to welcome the next generation of transportation enthusiasts to the industry and move communities forward.

2020 Program Participants

Rachael Alberts

UC San Diego
Urban Studies & Planning

Kezia Amanda Suwandhaputra

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Civil Engineering

Sonia Anthoine

UC Davis
Civil Engineering

Logan Aspeitia

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Celeste Esparza

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Civil Engineering

Anna Geannopolous-Solarzano

UCLA
MURP
Savannah College of Art & Design
BFA Writing

Kate Gosselin

UC Berkeley
Master of Transportation Engineering
University of Connecticut
BS Civil Engineering

Lupita Huerta

UCLA
Master of Urban & Regional Planning, Transportation Policy & Planning
UCLA
International Development Studies

Alexandra Lee-Gardner

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
City & Regional Planning

Agnes Lo

University of Chicago
Environmental & Urban Studies

Dawn Malla

UC Irvine
Civil Engineering

Meredith Milam

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
City & Regional Planning

Maria Morgan

UC Davis
BS Civil Engineering

Marta Polovin

UC Berkeley
Master of City & Regional Planning
UCLA
BS Human Biology & Society

Olivia Ramirez

Gonzaga University
Civil Engineering

Marley Randazzo

USC
Master of Urban Planning
Haverford College
BA Growth & Structure of Cities, Economics

Karl Reinhardt

UC Berkeley
MCP/MS Transportation Engineering
Bowdoin College
BA

Annie Rice

University of Colorado, Denver
Master of Urban & Regional Planning
University of Maryland
Environmental Science & Policy

Erika Ruiz

UC Berkeley
Urban Studies, Minor in GIS & Sustainable Design

Vanessa See

UC Berkeley
Master of Civil Engineering
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
BS Civil Engineering

Andre Soucy

University of Florida
Civil Engineering

Stephen Spana

University of Florida
PhD in Transportation Engineering
University of Florida
BS Civil Engineering

Nicholette Tolmie

UC Berkeley
BA Urban Studies

Elijah Wheeler

Georgia Tech
City & Regional Planning
Kennsaw State University
Mechanical Engineering

Claire Xie

UC Irvine
Civil Engineering

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Fehr & Peers Unfiltered Insights was an excellent opportunity to learn from accomplished professionals in the transportation industry, particularly during a time in which in-person internships are untenable. I left the program with a better understanding of the transportation planning practice and was encouraged by the level of professionalism and focus that goes into creating better physical spaces and transportation systems for people.

Marley Randazzo

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Every week, I enjoyed the interactive sessions in the afternoon when we would get to work on a quick project with my team. Learning important design principles that facilitate effective communication of ideas was extremely helpful. As someone with a more analytical and technical background, I was thankful to have time to work on these skills.

Karl Reinhardt

Would you like to learn more about our Unfiltered Career Insights Training Program? Interested in exploring our current and upcoming career opportunities? Contact us to get started.