Sandy Davis

My name is Sandy Davis (Phi Gamma) and I graduated from UMBC in 2010 with a degree in Cultural Anthropology. After graduating, I went on to complete a masters in Community Planning at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2012. Since graduate school I have been working as a transit planner, first for a small public transit agency in central Maryland and, for the past year and a half, at woman-owned consulting firm in Rockville, Maryland, Foursquare Integrated Transportation Planning, Inc.

On a typical day, I might work on a variety of projects or tasks, from running a public meeting to analyzing large sets of ridership data to creating maps and designing a bus route. I am fortunate enough to be able to work with a diverse set of clients too, including small college towns, major metropolitan transit systems and even employer-based transportation programs. My time at UMBC and as an active sister of the Phi Chi chapter prepared me for a career as a planner. Although I may have moaned and groaned at the onset of recruitment every semester, those engagement skills have made me into a better listener and communicator--which turned out to be crucial talents when trying to encourage wary bus riders to participate in any sort of public engagement activity!

I derive a lot of pleasure knowing that the work I do impacts people’s everyday lives, but it also means that decisions and recommendations I make have effects far beyond the time I may work on any individual project. As a sister I learned to work with a diverse set of people to solve problems, meet goals, and run a functional organization. Looking back on that experience, I realize now that the skills I gained with DPhiE made me into a planner who can recognize differing points of view, empathize, and reconcile diverging interests to create the most optimal solution for those impacted.

My colleagues are often extremely surprised to learn that I was in a sorority in college. I always meet their shock with a smile and gently explain that while (of course!) it was a fun college experience, my time as a sister of Delta Phi Epsilon gave me so much more; DPhiE gave me the tools to go on and achieve so many of my dreams and I am forever thankful for that experience.