My name is John Lang, I am a student at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center. I would like to have a career in civil engineering, specifically transit engineering. This is the design, study, and implementation of roadways and transit systems. I have always been fascinated by transit and cities and would love to work to create more transit opportunities for all people. I always try to use and explore public transportation every time I visit a city or place that has it. The fact that these systems can transport people with trains and buses fascinates me. When I realized transit was my main interest, about four years ago, it hit me that helping to design, plan, build, and implement them would be my priority. Transit is a vital thing that connects people, it should be used more often and better accepted in our country.

In order to achieve my goal of becoming a transit engineer, I have taken certain steps in my education. I excel in math and science classes and they are my favorite subjects. Solving problems is a task I find very enjoyable, that is why I have enrolled in the Forrest Center, to gain more real life application of engineering that will help me in the workforce. In terms of job experience, I have worked as a camp counselor for a summer program about environmental science. There I worked as a leader to help teach and guide the students at the camp, there I gained some of my leadership experience. The ability to lead and guide others is a very useful asset that can be used in any field, but engineering requires a great team and even better leadership to succeed.

Extracurricular activities are very important, they expose you to new people and subjects. I have been involved in a lot of different programs. Sports are one of my favorite things to do. I am a tennis and golf player who loves to learn and improve in sport. Along with sports, I enjoy playing instruments, the cello and guitar are my favorite to play. In school orchestra l play the cello and guitar is more of an at home hobby. All of these activities help with team building and leadership skills which are important in any career. Hobbies will help me become a better engineer by allowing me to use skills from other activities.

After I graduate from highschool, I plan on attending a four year university and majoring in civil engineering. This is the right path for someone who wants to make a career out of their love of transit. Looking for internships at firms that specialize in transit during college is a great way to build relationships during college. With good connections, getting jobs at these companies will be easier. These are some of the steps that I will take to land a job at an engineering firm that involves itself in transit design and implementation. 

When I become a transit engineer, I will do my best to bring transit to communities that are underserved and could benefit from it. This could mean studying an area to find the best option for the location, or it could be the improvement or expansion of existing systems. Transit means a lot to me and it is my belief that everything from long distance trains to local bus services should be used more. Americans have tended to lean more towards cars and big roads. While this is a great system that has worked for decades, it also has a lot of major problems. If you look across the ocean to Europe, you will find plenty more transit. This is not to say the US should be more like Europe, but we can borrow a page from their book to make more options available at a sustainability and financial level. Pollution, traffic, fatalities and noise are all problems that cars create. These issues may never be truly solved, and transit can not work in every situation, but creating another viable option can turn people on to the idea of taking a train from city to city instead of flying or driving. That is what I can do to make the world a better place.