Solving For a Better World

Interview by Cheryl Quimba

Lauren Phung’s record for solving a Rubik’s Cube is 6.28 seconds. This accomplishment, which places her in the top 1% of “speed cubers” worldwide, is the result of years studying hundreds of algorithms to shave precious seconds off her time.

The hobby Phung first picked up as a child is now a guiding force in her life, spurring her to travel around the country for competitions and to mentor kids hoping to master the iconic puzzle.

The UB senior applies this same ethos of determination and service to everything she does, and she does a lot. A Western New York Prosperity Fellow, College of Arts and Sciences Ambassador, and Future Alumni Network leader, she has spearheaded initiatives wherever she has worked or volunteered, from the Food Recovery Network to National Grid. She even taught an honors course as a junior in which the class redesigned a local transportation network to be more equitable.

Looking forward, Phung aims to eventually become the U.S. secretary of transportation—a goal that seems entirely within reach considering how far she’s already come.

Sustainability is one of my big passions. It was through my sustainability coursework that I took a class called Human Geography, and that made me fall in love with geography. That class really drilled into my mind how important location is to the lives we live and the development that happens.

I also took a GIS course my first year where we made a map of Buffalo using 1936 homeowners loan corporation data, and we compared that to 2016 home foreclosures. We made an interactive redlining map, and that proved to me that maps and spatial data are really powerful. They play a key role in solving almost every socioeconomic issue we have today.

I think giving back is really important, especially when you’re in a position where you’re able to give back. The UB chapter of the Food Recovery Network is the first club I joined. We take all the leftover food from the dining halls and send it to local partners in the Buffalo Niagara community, like food banks, unhoused populations and people who just need food. I was on the executive board my sophomore year and I spearheaded an initiative with the Buffalo Bills and the company that runs their tailgates. We partnered with them to do food recovery and collected over 100 pounds of food from just one tailgate.

I was on National Grid’s economic development team, which disperses $11 million of grant funding to companies working on infrastructure improvement projects. I got to travel a lot. I visited dairy farms. I visited Barilla Pasta. I got to meet the mayor of Niagara Falls!

I also wrote an internal grants guidebook so the team could streamline their processes, did an audit of the economic development website, and tested the new CRM [customer relationship management system] they wanted to roll out for grant applicants to make the process faster and information easier to find.

I’d like to get my master’s degree in urban planning, with a concentration in transportation planning and policy. I want to be the head of a municipal transportation authority and then, ultimately, work my way up to be the transportation secretary.

I’m originally from Brooklyn, and I think my upbringing there is the reason I’m into public transportation, because my mom doesn’t drive and we took the subway everywhere. As a kid I thought it was really cool to hop on this metal machine and move at 30 miles an hour—then you get off and you’re in a totally different place. I think movement and mobility are powerful, and to have public transportation be accessible for young kids and people who can’t drive is really special.