2020 Scholarship Awardees
By Shelley Wynne, WTS-DC
On December 8, WTS-DC held its annual Holiday Party and awards ceremony virtually. During the party, the WTS-DC Scholarship Committee with honorary emcee, Monica Backmon, Executive Director at the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, presented nine deserving young women with a total of $15,500 in WTS-DC scholarships and a complimentary one-year WTS-DC membership. This year’s recipients represent a diverse field of transportation, from business and finance to engineering. WTS-DC congratulates these young women on what they have already accomplished in transportation and looks forward to seeing them excel in both their academic and professional endeavors.
Undergraduate Scholarships
Nicole Russo is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering at the University of Maryland with a minor in sustainability studies. Russo notes that she is interested in transportation and project management and her goal is to create a more inclusive community that strives to consider all stakeholders that will be affected by the implementation of a transportation project. Russo is receiving the Dewberry $2,000 named scholarship. She was also recommended for the WTS-I Sharon D. Banks Memorial Undergraduate Scholarship.
Jhanelle Davy is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in civil and environmental engineering at Howard University. She is the current president of Howard University’s American Society of Civil Engineers and the current president of Howard University’s Institute of Transportation Engineers. Her ultimate career goal is to become a leader in the transportation industry and open doors for other young women to do the same. Davy is receiving a $1,500 scholarship from the 2019 WTS-DC Scholarship Fund. She was also recommended for the WTS-I Molitoris Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship.
Graduate Scholarships
Abigail Wolfgram is pursuing a master’s degree in public policy at George Mason University with a 4.0 GPA. Wolfgram currently works at AECOM as a civil engineer in the transportation department serving as a deputy project manager, discipline manager, and task coordinator for local engineering and planning projects. She has impressive leadership and outreach service that includes community service at the Arlington County Detention Facility, leading the Ascent Arlington Professional Group, and co-founder of the Transportation Racial Equity Dialogue Group (TRED) at AECOM. Her goal is to play a role in developing policy solutions to meet our communities’ most complex transportation problems. Wolfgram is receiving a $2,000 scholarship from the WTS-DC Scholarship Fund. She was also recommended for the WTS-I Leadership Legacy Graduate Scholarship.
Nneoma Ugwu is pursuing a master’s degree and Ph.D. in civil engineering with a concentration in transportation planning and policy and project management at the University of Maryland. Her research projects include the impact of COVID-19 on travel demand and congestion in Maryland and an electric vehicle (EV) parking and charging study at the University of Maryland. She grew up in Nigeria and her long-term goal is to return home to Nigeria and work with the Ministry of Transportation. Ugwu is receiving the HDR $2,000 named scholarship. She was also recommended for the WTS-I Helene M. Overly Memorial Graduate Scholarship.
Sara Zahedian is pursuing a Ph.D. in transportation from the University of Maryland. Zahedian is a current research assistant collaborating with the I-95 Corridor Coalition from Vehicle Probe Project (VPP) and is working on data quality analysis of National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). She is the vice president of the ITS-ITE University of Maryland Student Chapter. In the last year of her Ph.D. journey, she is confident that her expertise in the transportation field and passion for innovation has empowered her to be one of the leaders in the transportation field. Zahedian is receiving the WSP $2,000 named scholarship.
Andrea Adibe is pursuing a master’s degree in business and finance with a concentration in procurement from The George Washington University Law School. Adibe currently works at the Virginia Office of the Attorney General as the assistant attorney general in the Transportation Section. She has experience researching contracts related to public private partnerships (P3) infrastructure projects and counseling staff regarding operations and maintenance issues associated with concession contracts. She grew up in Nigeria where she become intrigued by the rapid movement of people and things. Her goal is to continue making a positive impact in her community through her work efforts upon graduation. Adibe is receiving a $1,500 scholarship from the WTS-DC Scholarship Fund.
Marta Woldu is pursuing a master’s degree in community planning from the University of Maryland. She is a graduate assistant at the University of Maryland National Center for Smart Growth and the acting assistant director of sustainability initiatives at the University of Maryland Department of Transportation Services. In these roles, she has taken tremendous pleasure in expanding the Sustainable Transportation Program and supporting significant shifts for a greener campus and society. Woldu is receiving a $1,500 scholarship from the WTS-DC Scholarship Fund.
Kyla Elzinga is pursuing a master’s degree in transportation policy, operations, and logistics from George Mason University. She is currently the director of operations and special assistant for planning at Freedman Consulting, LLC working directly with the executive team to implement and maintain efficient processes for staffing, client work, and internal systems. She became interested in transportation due to her love for operations and logistics and her care for the impact that accessible transportation has on the community. Her ultimate career goal is to be a high-level leader in the transportation industry where she can affect change and resolve large-scale disparities in transportation affordability and accessibility. Elzinga is receiving a $1,500 scholarship from the WTS-DC Scholarship Fund.
Sanaz Aliari is pursuing a Ph.D. in transportation engineering from the University of Maryland. Her Ph.D. proposal topic is related to meeting point incorporation in vehicle routing problems. Since 2016, she has held the graduate research assistant position at the Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies (CATT). She has set ambitious goals for herself to become a successful woman in academia, tackling some of the most challenging problems in the field of transportation addressing multidisciplinary issues with important financial and environmental impacts. Aliari is receiving a $1,500 scholarship from the WTS-DC Scholarship Fund.
Congratulations to all of our 2020 WTS-DC scholarship winners. We wish you the best if your future educational and professional endeavors!