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The Mineta Transportation Institute Essay Contest invites students, grades 6-12, to propose and explore a solution to a problem centered around a specific theme each year under one or more of the following principles of transportation: sustainability, equity, safety, community, and innovation.
2023-2024 Theme: |
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More than 43,000 people die on roads in the U.S. each year and millions more are injured. Conventional viewpoints have held that road collisions are an inevitable consequence of modern roads. However, armed with the right strategies, we can stop this trend and bring these grim statistics down to zero. This is #VisionZero2030—a commitment to eradicating traffic-related fatalities and injuries by the year 2030.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg called the number of traffic deaths a national crisis. Last year, the Biden Administration awarded $5 billion to the Safe Streets & Roads for All to promote safety for all road users, particularly vulnerable pedestrians and bicyclists. Despite these efforts, the heartrending reality persists—on average, four lives are lost every hour, every day, across the nation due to traffic accidents. The clock is ticking, and the time for action is now.
Essay prompts:
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2022-2023 "Rethink Your Ride" Essay Winners |
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Group 1 |
Group 2 |
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Reduction of Car-Reliance in the US EconomyBy Anping Huang
Grade 9, Lynbrook High School, San José, CA
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Public Transportation: Incentivizing Widespread UsageBy Caitlin Zhou
Grade 10, Lynbrook High School, San José, CA
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Two winners will be selected; one from grades 6-9 and one from grades 10-12. Winners will receive $500 and $1,000, respectively, as well as certificates of achievements. All prizes must be claimed by end of the academic school year in which the entries were made. Winning essays will be published on MTI’s website and newsletter.
For the contest, students grades 6-9 will write a 500-word-limit essay while students grades 10-12 will write a 1000-word-limit essay as a response to ONE of the essay prompts of their choosing.
All students enrolled in grades 6-12 in public, private, and home schools within the United States are encouraged to submit. Only one submission per student is allowed.
All entries must be original work reviewed, approved, and sponsored by a teacher. We will use your sponsoring teacher as a contact for the competition should we have any questions. For homeschooled students, please contact a mentor to sponsor your writing. The teacher/mentor must complete and attach the required cover sheet.
Group 1: Grades 6th - 9th |
Group 2: Grades 10th - 12th |
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Total points possible: 15
Content - Understanding of the topic: To what extent did the writer demonstrate a clear understanding of the essay prompt and respond with details about their ideas?
Material Organization & Sources - Effectiveness in presenting a point-of-view, logical interpretation of the subject - clear thesis, and supporting ideas, and factual information
Important Dates |
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January 29, 2024 |
Essay submittal deadline at 11:59PM |
February 26-March 1, 2024 |
Winners announced and prizes coordinated with winning students |
April 30, 2024 |
All prizes must be claimed |
For questions or concerns regarding this contest, please contact Alverina Weinardy.
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SJSU Research Foundation 210 N. 4th Street, 4th Floor, San Jose, CA 95112 Phone: 408-924-7560 Email: mineta-institute@sjsu.edu