Scholarships
2024 WTS-Boston Chapter Scholarship Recipients
WTS-Boston is proud to announce the following 2024 scholarship winners:
2024 Graduate Scholarship Winners
Ann Hershfang Scholarship for Graduates
Efthymia (Fay) Kostopoulou
Fay Kostopoulou is a PhD Candidate in Transportation Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has been involved in WTS throughout her studying years, serving as Vice President and President of the WTS UMass Amherst student chapter and as co-chair of the Joint Transportation Organization at UMass. Her research interests include intelligent transportation systems, traffic management, accessibility, and equity. Fay’s ongoing research on emission-based signal control optimization aims to minimize the emissions of auto and transit vehicles on urban road networks. She hopes her work will ultimately contribute to more sustainable urban transportation systems from an efficiency and environmental standpoint.
WTS-Boston Mary Jane O’Meara Member Graduate Scholarship
Bella Chau
Bella Chau is a Structural Engineer-in-Training (EIT) based in HDR’s Boston office, specializing in transportation with four years of experience in structural engineering and highway design. Her professional journey includes an internship at STV during college and a background in project management in her native Vietnam. Bella holds her first bachelor's degree in architecture, focusing on interior design, obtained in Vietnam. She earned a second bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology after relocating to the USA. Bella has never stopped advancing her education. Undeterred by the demands of working full-time, she has been pursuing a master’s degree in Civil Engineering with a concentration in structures at Northeastern University.
During her tenure at HDR, Bella has contributed to notable projects, including the design of highway and accessibility improvements for Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, and structures of Chinatown Station and Hynes Station Improvement projects. She has been engaged in McKnight Community Trail, Springfield, Massachusetts, where she was responsible for a bridge design. She has also been involved in many massive projects, including the I-64 Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Expansion, Fort Lauderdale International Airport.
Actively participating in WTS-Boston since 2020, Bella has engaged in the mentorship program and expresses her commitment to ongoing involvement with WTS, contributing to its mission of advancing future generations in transportation.
2024 Undergraduate Scholarship Winners
Jacquelyn R. Smith Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship
Sarah Pinkowsky
Sarah Pinkowsky is a third-year student at Northeastern University, pursuing her bachelor's degree in civil engineering. She is a project manager for the Northeastern Concrete Canoe team and she led her team to third place at the regional Concrete Canoe competition in 2023. Sarah is also a former executive board member for Northeastern’s ASCE chapter. She has gained experience with bridges and tunnels as a structural/bridge engineering intern at Jacobs in the summer and fall of 2023 and will continue her work in the summer of 2024. She hopes to continue her career working as a structural engineer in the transportation sector post-graduation in 2025.
Transportation YOU High School Scholarship
Ariyani Duverge
Ariyani Duverge is a high school senior at Kipp Academy Lynn Collegiate High School in Lynn, MA. She is committed to Northeastern University and will begin her journey there in Fall 2024. She is currently the president of the K-pop club at her school, is a member of the National Honor Society, and is a member of the KIPP volleyball and softball team. She maintains a 3.7 GPA and her interests include using technology to apprehend the increasing numbers of traffickers on public transportation.