Congratulations to our Western District Scholarship Winner, Alberto Laureano-Rumbo! He received one of the two awards the District provided this year. See below for his summary of his time at the conference!

“This past ITE Western District meeting was my very first experience attending a conference hosted by the ITE Western District. It marked the end of my own personal 2024-2025 academic year, and what a way to end it.

I was looking forward to meeting people that I have met in my previous years of being in ITE. Whether that be during this year’s SLS or events that our local chapters of ITE SoCal and ITE RSBITE hosted this year. Even students that I first met in Washington DC for TRB. I was also looking forward to meeting new people. Students from outside Southern California and professionals that are willing to share their own experiences in the same industry I want to be apart of one day.

No two days during the Western District we’re the same, it was almost a new experience every day. Somedays I speak mostly with students. Sunday for example, we had presentations of our very own student chapters. We got to share our highlights and struggles, our dreams and our ambitions. No two student chapters are the same as you learned something new from every chapter that you decided to speak. We also played a game created by CPSLO, competitive but also allowed us to talk with students from where we weren’t from. Throughout the event, we spoke together. From how school was going, next year’s plans for our chapter, talking about our dream transit systems, about our favorite transit content, to just talking about life. We even went to the beach and enjoyed the fresh air. Everyone was so welcoming, it was like nothing I had experienced before. I also got to experience new things. My very first time on a boat! I got to adventure the Queen Mary, and even though I am not the biggest fan of heights, I had a lot of fun! (Just as long as I wasn’t too close to the edge). I also rode a bike for the first time during the bike tour. It was a little challenging, but we made it out in one piece! Even got to play Family Feud with some amazing people. (Go Queen Mary’s!). The technical sessions also provided meaningful learning opportunities. Whether it be from professionals with many years of experience to students presenting their research, it was nice to learn something new. And who knows, that might be the standard one day. Even the professionals were amazing to speak too. Some gave me hours of their time just to talk with me, which is not what I thought would happen. I would even be eating lunch alone and people would walk over and offer to sit and talk with me. Everyone was very willing to talk and spend time with each other. It was nothing I had experienced before; everyone truly cared for one another. I am still in contact with many people after the event, it was truly a moment where I met lifelong friends.

I had a lot of fun exploring Long Beach when I could. Got to ride a bike on the improved bike lanes downtown Long Beach, rode the lime scooters late at night on the oceanside, and took in the amazing skyline! It was an amazing place to be in, and great for transit too!

Thank you to everyone that I got to speak with during the event. Whether it was brief introductions or speaking for hours, I had pleasure with speaking with everyone! Thanks to my Alejandro, Nicolas, Benjamin, and Kai for being my teammates for the Family Feud event. Thank you to the UCI chapter for letting me stay with them during the event. I had lots of fun with Henry, Denny, Benjamin, and Kai outside of event time. I rode some scooters, ate some good food, and played some games. Thank you, guys!

Thank you to Kayla and the rest of the student initiative committee for the student-oriented events. I had a lot of fun and am grateful that I was a part of them.

I look forward to seeing everyone next year in Bellevue! Don’t forget to support your student chapters and GO BRONCOS!”