Marquis Grant – Staff Writer
Less than 15 percent of college students live on campus. The other 85 percent of students are called commuter students, who get to school via transportation, such as a car or bus, and do not live on campus.
The Improve Your Commuter (IYC) project is a project aimed at improving student transportation via a transport app. The IYC project will also involve Broward College more directly with events on campuses coming in January.
IYC works with local Florida colleges including Broward College and is looking to get data on student’s transportation to assist them with easier commutes. IYC is seeking to spread interest and engagement with student commuters and get data through their survey, which is the main data point for the research to improve commuting and ultimately academic performance and future success.
Paula Lopez, who is a long-time student commuter herself, and was formerly a research assistant with IYC, is the team leader for the research ambassadors, and is passionate about fulfilling the aim of the project.
Lopez facilitates a positive work environment for the other ambassadors by helping organize the team and designating tasks. She is very passionate about the commuting work as the project’s team leader and loves to see the ambassadors have opportunities and growth working together as a team.
She also enjoys seeing other students become more involved and active on campus, which she facilitates both for the ambassadors she leads and with the work itself through the different events that engage students and attract them to the survey. She has been the creative mind for the games and marketing, which have been a success at bringing more students to the survey.
Alexandru L. Pasarariu is another student and ambassador at FAU and a soon to be graduating accounting major.
He became an ambassador because he wanted the opportunity as an accounting major to participate in research and wanted to implement change due to his dissatisfaction with the pre-pandemic parking operation at his university.
Pasarariu, as an accounting major with no direct connection to urban design or transportation, wants other students to know from his experience with the IYC efforts that it’s ok to do projects outside your college major and challenge yourself with new endeavors.
Starting in January, the campaign will resume and continue with events, some of which will be at Broward College including tabling events with games and opportunities to win prizes and take the survey to contribute to the research, which can make commuting easier for students at local colleges.
For more information on how to become involved with the project, follow the IYC social media accounts @fau_iyc on Instagram and FAUIYC on Facebook.
