Meet Marcelo Remond Miyoshi

 As a civil engineering major with a minor in urban planning and design, Marcelo Remond Miyoshi is passionate about making transportation safe and accessible for all users. His love of cities makes moving to an urban space such as Hoboken, Jersey City, or the Big Apple one of his life goals.

Why Rutgers?

It's a good value education, and it’s near my house.

What drew you to CE?

I wanted to contribute to society, and out of all engineering sectors, civil engineering seemed to be the one where you could support society the most.

What do you most like about the CE faculty?

My best experience has been with professor Husam Najm, who has helped me a lot – especially when managing my credits and integrating my urban planning and design major into my four-year plan.

Have you been in volved in any research projects?

Yes! I’m currently the recipient of the Ralph Vorhees Fellowship. This term, we’re conducting a project about finding the best ways to provide emergency services to New Brunswick’s homeless population.

What about internships?

It was a challenge at first. After applying to dozens of internships for the summer of 2022, I finally – thanks to a Rutgers’ email that promoted job opportunities – secured an internship with Vericon Construction as a construction management intern. Despite having a great experience, I decided construction was not really my thing.

But last summer, I knew that I wanted a transportation internship. Thanks to the CE career fair, I was able to network with Stantec, where I ended up interning as a traffic transportation intern. When you do something you like, you realize it instantly. Every day I was excited to learn new things.

What do you most value about your SoE education?

I appreciate the sense of community and also value the diversity. Here at Rutgers, I’ve met people from several backgrounds that have led me to learn new things.

You write articles on the side. What do you write about?

It’s funny. I’m an engineering student who loves to write. I found out I liked writing after taking the scientific and technical writing class and finding a great sense of mission and inspiration after reading The Power Broker, Robert Caro’s masterful book about Robert Moses.

I enjoy writing about urban socio-economic issues. I have a platform to express myself and share what I think is important, and I have an opportunity to advocate for issues such as the housing crisis, transportation equity, land use patterns, and more. Being able to reach thousands of people through my writing for Planetizen as a blogger is a privilege and an honor.  I also enjoy promoting public transit access and mixed-use developments, which can actually reduce traffic if done right.

What do you plan to do after graduation?

I’m currently working part time with Stantec, and plan to keep doing that. I’d like to help make communities safe for all road users, help towns achieve zero traffic deaths, and promote sustainable and equitable transportation through my job. I’d also like to keep developing my writing skills.

What advice do you have for new students?

Try everything as fast as you can, so you know what you like early on. If you are able to do this, you’ll have an easier time planning ahead. Also, getting a B or even a C is not the end of the world. Do your best and the best will come to you.

What three words describe your SoE experience?

Mission. Resilience. Opportunity.