Congratulations to the Mineta Summer Transportation Institute students and alums!

On July 8th, 2024, thirty-two high school students from all across the San Francisco Bay Area gathered in the shade of Tower Hall on the San José State University (SJSU) campus for the first day of the Mineta Summer Transportation Institute (MSTI). Since 2006, the three-week annual program has offered 9th-12th grade students an immersive non-resident college experience—complete with the opportunity to earn transferable credits in environmental studies—all for free. The program, offered by the Mineta Transportation Institute, aims to inform the community about the importance of transportation and everyday mobility while attracting talented, diverse future generation transportation professionals.

This year’s highlights included field trips to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Spartan Racing Shop, California High-Speed Rail Alignment & Salesforce Transit Center, GoMentum Station, the San Jose Department of Transportation (SJDOT) at City Hall and Transportation Incident Management Center (TiMC), Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority (VTA), and the SJSU Aviation Department & Gerald Shreve Simulation Lab. Students engaged with professionals from a variety of continuing MSTI partners such as HNTB and California High-Speed Rail Authority (CAHSRA) as well as new partners, including Glydways and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA). 

HNTB professionals and interns met with MSTI students to learn about how the firm’s work shapes the transportation industry and impacts communities—and how the students could become involved in similar work in the future. Students learned about potential career trajectories, how to secure internships, and more during a speed mentoring session. This event and others like it during the program empowered students to connect the dots between transportation and related careers in the abstract and in real life by seeing these ideas in action and communicating with real transportation professionals. 

MSTI participant Lilia Rodriguez Vargas said of the speed mentoring event with HNTB, “They talked to us about what they did to get where they are now. I learned from them that there isn’t one fixed pathway of where you want to go and where you want to end up. That is something I worry about all the time. This program helped me realize that I am capable of a lot of things.”

Indeed, MSTI gave these students a chance to see into the future—their own futures and the future of transportation—with many of the activities in the program. Their visit to the TiMC with SJDOT gave them a behind-the-scenes glimpse at traffic management, for instance. Learning about CA high-speed rail and autonomous vehicles also allowed students to experience emerging technologies and increase their understanding of how the industry and mobility is evolving.

As the three weeks came to a close and participants gathered again on the sunny campus grounds for the program graduation, a few spoke about what stood out to them and what they had gleaned from the guest speakers, field trips, and all the program had to offer. 

One student, Roland Lee, found his time connecting with the SJSU students at the Spartan Racing Shop to be most beneficial. “I was able to ask tons of questions about the software they use, kinds of tools, hardships, and really just general life advice. This was really beneficial because they are college students—they are in that transition from education to industry…They have already navigated the paths we need to take.” Roland also spoke of what he learned from the California High-Speed Rail professionals who communicated with the students about life and career experiences, “The lesson I really learned was just to go out there and do it.”

Thank you to our partners!

MTI extends heartfelt thanks to our new and returning partners. We are grateful for continued partnerships with the California High-Speed Rail Authority, DB E.C.O. North America Inc., HNTB, Nuro, San Jose Department of Transportation, SJSU Aviation and Technology, SJSU Environmental Studies Department, SJSU Peer Connections, United Airlines, and the SJSU Writing Center. We also enthusiastically thank our long-time partner—VTA. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has been an MSTI partner for more than 10 years. Every summer, they invite us to a behind-the-scenes tour, enabling students to witness first-hand a variety of transportation careers as they observe front-line transit workers in the vehicles yard. We also want to acknowledge our new partners: Glydways and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA). Our partnership with Glydways enabled us to bring the students to GoMentum Station, a testing ground for connected and autonomous vehicles managed by CCTA, for an amazing opportunity to learn about cutting-edge tech and mobility innovations that can improve transportation safety and accessibility. CCTA also supported students in visiting Bishop Ranch to experience their exciting autonomous shuttle pilot. We look forward to new and continued partnerships at the next MSTI!

MSTI Alumni - Where Are They Now?

Absar Ahmed (MSTI ‘22) Studying Biomedical Engineering at UC Irvine		April Beyersdorf (MSTI ‘23) -Studying Environmental Policy & Analysis at UC Davis -Earned Certification as Locomotive Engineer at Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad -Won High School Student Activities Award for “Leadership in Student Engagement” for Sustainable Transportation Advocacy		Meera Bhaskar (MSTI ‘23) -Interning with Aviation Systems Division at NASA Ames -Volunteered as Youth Mentor for the 2024 Garrett Morgan Sustainable Transportation Competition -Published eBook on Electric Vehicles and Sustainable Mobility in January 2024
Filip Buca (MSTI ‘23) -Studying Civil Engineering and Urban Planning at UC Merced -Planning to attend the MSTM Program at SJSU		Cesar Cortinas (MSTI ‘19) -Studying Biomolecular Engineering at UC Santa Cruz -Interning at SJSU in the Electrical Engineering Department		Akash Goda (MSTI ‘23) -Studying Computer Science & Economics as a Honors Scholar at UW Madison -Completed MTC’s Norman Mineta Bay Area Summer Academy
Nicholas Goodrich (MSTI ‘22) -Studying Civil Engineering and Urban Planning at West Valley College -Planning to pursue MS in Urban Planning		Itzel Herrera Mejia (MSTI ‘22)  Studying Environmental Architecture at UC Davis		Erica Khanam (MSTI ‘19) -Studying Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Davis -Interning at San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Marcus Lau (MSTI ‘23) Studying Civil Engineering at Cal Poly		Keval Malde (MSTI ‘19) -Starting work as Aviation Service Technician -Earned A&P License and AS in Automotive Technology		Omkar Perinkulam (MSTI ‘23) -Planning to study Civil Engineering -Completed MTC’s Norman Mineta Bay Area Summer Academ
Ryder Ramirez (MSTI ‘22) Studying Marine Biology at UC Santa Cruz		Niamh Regan (MSTI ‘23) Studying Urban Planning at Pitzer College		Jack Rizvi (MSTI ‘19) Studying Astrophysics at San Mateo Community College