2008 Scholarship Recipients

Julie Kang is a graduate student at the University of California, Riverside and the winner of the WTS-IE Helene Overly Memorial Scholarship for 2008. She is working toward her doctorate in cognitive psychology, which she plans to apply to transportation research. Kang is a graduate student reseacher at UCR, where she has been examining driver safety, including attention limitations, accident risk and accident risk for older populations. In January 2008, Kang gave a presentation at the annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, the leading international conference on transportation studies in the world. Upon graduating, she plans to continue her research in the field of transportation. A Moreno Valley resident, Kang also has served as a teaching assistant at UCR and has earned a 3.71 grade point average in her graduate studies.  After winning the chapter-level Helene Overly Memorial Scholarship, Kang will go on to compete for the international award.

Benyue "Emma" Liu is one of two recipients of the 2008 WTS-IE Susan Van Note Memorial Scholarship. A student at Harvey Mudd College, Liu is studying to receive a bachelor's of science degree in engineering in May 2010. A native of Nanjing, China, Liu wrote a proposal for transportation planning in Nanjing that received full funding by Harvey Mudd's Center for Environmental Studies. She and a classmate conducted summer environmental research in Nanjing and developed a set of recommendations for sustainable public transportation for use by the city's transportation authority. Liu served as junior class president in 2008 at Harvey Mudd, worked as a researcher in the school's computer science department, served as a lab assistant in both the chemistry and biology departments, is a member  and advertising coordinator of the Claremont College Ballroom Dance Company and served as a volunteer for the Pomona Hope Project and the New Orleans Common Ground Project. She holds a 3.28 grade point average and lives in Claremont.

Martha Durbin is the other recipient of the 2008 WTS-IE Susan Van Note Memorial Scholarship. She completed her bachelor's degree in business administration from California Baptist University this fall with a 3.5 grade point average. She serves as a "Rising Stars in Transit" intern for the Riverside County Transportation Commission and helps with Metrolink activities, including weekend station user surveys and financial review and database management of rail and transit projects. Durbin also has volunteers to help at WTS-IE luncheons throughout 2008. Upon earning her bachelor's degree this fall, Durbin plans to immediately begin pursuing her master's degree in business administration at Cal Baptist. She plans to continue working in the field of transportation, because she wants to, "become a part of making a difference in this world, because the world is nothing without transportation." Durbin is a resident of Moreno Valley and earned a 3.5 grade point average at Cal Baptist.