Turning Aspiration into Action with APTF

Patricia Soto is the recipient of an American Public Transportation Foundation (APTF) scholarship. APTF aims to increase and retain the number of individuals choosing the transit field as a career by providing scholarships and engagement opportunities to deserving students and transit professionals. The APTF scholarship supported Soto’s studies in an MS in Transportation Management (MSTM) offered at San Jose State University, a program supported by the Mineta Transportation Institute. This is her story:

Patricia Soto, MSTM ’23

Community Relations Director
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro)

Balancing full-time work, parenting, and graduate school during the COVID-19 pandemic was a profound challenge, but it also revealed my resilience and deepened my dedication to public service. The APTF scholarship, along with Los Angeles Metro’s generous tuition reimbursement program, helped support me through these challenges by turning aspiration into action and equipping me to lead with strategy, empathy, and vision.

The support from APTF, LA Metro, and the LA chapter of WTS was invaluable in empowering me to pursue my MSTM at San Jose State University. The program is built for working professionals who, like me, are genuinely interested in advancing their skills and strategic thinking. The MSTM program enhanced my ability to lead with clarity and purpose and deepened my commitment to servant leadership grounded in integrity, accountability, and public good. By engaging with industry experts in the classroom and collaborating with my fellow students, I emerged better able to guide teams through change and align transit solutions with community needs.

I know firsthand that scholarships like those offered by APTF and support given by agencies like mine are essential to the future of our industry.

As director of the Countywide Initiatives team at LA Metro, I lead efforts to ensure that community voices help shape the future of public transportation. The MSTM program, supported by the Mineta Transportation Institute, helped me support my team to continue to create a more responsive, people-centered transit system built with the community, not just for it.

Investing in students and professionals through scholarships strengthens our collective capacity to innovate, solve challenges, and deliver sustainable transportation solutions. It’s an investment not just in individuals but in the future of mobility and the communities we serve.

Learn more about the American Public Transportation Foundation here.