Applications are being accepted for FREE overnight high school transportation camps this summer

By Lisa Walzl

Are you a high school student curious about how we decide where highways go, what we're doing to help the earth by reducing our carbon footprint or how we plan for the future of transportation while keeping people and goods moving? Ever just wanted to get a behind the scenes tour of a bridge or other parts of our state transportation system? Know a teenager who does?

If so, we have a summer camp experience for you. We're once again offering high school students a chance to spend a week exploring the transportation field with statewide experts, agency leaders and university professors at our Washington Transportation Camp 2024 hosted by PacTrans and WSDOT.

Students touring the WSDOT Transportation Management Center in Shoreline

We're offering two free camps this summer, both of which include staying overnight at a state university. One is a five-day camp at Washington State University in Pullman from July 21-26. The second is a five-day camp at the University of Washington in Seattle from Aug. 4-9. Students will stay on campus in university dormitories during the camp. All lodging and meals are covered by sponsors so there are no costs to the students.

The priority deadline to apply for both camps is April 28. Camps are limited to 20 students. To be considered, applicants must be entering 10th, 11th or 12th grade at a Washington state school for the fall 2024 semester and be able to attend the entire session. You don't need previous experience in engineering or transportation – but curiosity is a must!

To learn more about these programs and to apply, visit this link for the camp website.

Students working with a robotic car at the Washington State University camp

Both camps offer students the chance to:

• Take field trips with professionals to transportation facilities like the Northwest Region Transportation Management Center to gain insight into their inner workings.
• Showcase your knowledge in collaborative group projects.
• Make new friends and experience life on a college campus.
• Explore the potential for a future career in transportation—whether it's in engineering, planning, or beyond.

This could be the start of a career in transportation, engineering, planning or a whole host of other fields. But even if it's not, participants will have a better understanding of how we all get where we're going as well as how the things we buy and need get to store shelves or our homes – and what goes into making those trips as safe and smooth as possible. And some pretty good stories to share with friends and family about the unique experience you had over the summer.

We hope to see you there!