WTS Philadelphia Scholarship: Student Spotlights: Jasmine Wallack

WTS Philadelphia proudly awards scholarships to outstanding students from high school through graduate school who are passionate about pursuing careers in transportation. These highly competitive awards recognize students for their academic excellence, leadership, and commitment to advancing the future of transportation. This year, we awarded a total of $25,000 in scholarships to support and celebrate the next generation of transportation leaders and innovators.

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Jasmine Wallack

University of Pennsylvania

Sylvia L. Alston Graduate Scholarship

Jasmine Wallack grew up in New Jersey but has called Philadelphia home for the last six years. She received her undergraduate degree in political science with a minor in nonviolence from Colorado College. Jasmine is currently pursuing a Master of City Planning at the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Land Use and Environmental Planning. She is a member of the WTS Philadelphia Student Chapter and serves as a lead liaison by facilitating communication amongst students at other local universities and helping disseminate WTS opportunities. Jasmine inherited both her father’s love of cycling and enthusiasm for rail travel. She hopes to channel these interests into a career as a transportation planner by creating systems that allow people to travel in ways that make cities not only more environmentally and socially just, but also more joyful.

Questions

1. What inspired you to pursue your current field of study or career path?

I was drawn to city planning because it offers tools to improve the quality of life and make communities more equitable. Throughout grad school, I became especially interested in transportation planning because transportation systems are major contributors to carbon emissions and therefore have significant impacts on a city's climate resiliency and ecological and human health.

2. What does receiving this scholarship mean to you?

Receiving the Sylvia Alston Scholarship means a lot to me because of Sylvia Alston's legacy of leadership and commitment to expanding opportunities for women within the field during her time as Amtrak's Officer of Supplier Diversity. I'm inspired by her and hope I can be a part of the ongoing work to make transportation a more welcoming and inclusive field for current and future generations.  

3. Why do you think transportation is important to communities?

High-quality transportation is essential to community well-being, providing access to jobs, education, healthcare, and social connections. Reliable and affordable transportation can expand opportunities, while inadequate transportation reinforces inequities. Public transportation is also a tool for reducing auto-dependency, which can lower carbon emissions, improve human health, and advance climate goals.