Paid Transportation Internships for High School Students Available

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--High school sophomores, juniors and graduating seniors in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area are encouraged to apply for paid summer internships in the transportation field. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) annual High School Internship Program is seeking student applicants for summer internship positions in local transportation agencies throughout the nine counties. “The program’s purpose is to introduce students to career opportunities in transportation,” noted MTC Executive Director Steve Heminger.

“We especially need student applications for positions in the northern Bay Area counties.”

Students must be at least 16 years old by the start of the program this June and have completed the 10^th grade. Additionally, students must live and go to school in the county where the position is offered. Students graduating in 2013 are eligible to apply for the internships. The deadline for submissions is February 28, 2013.

The program’s flexible schedule allows students to be employed either full-time or part-time for up to ten weeks between June 19 and August 30. Students will work with local public agencies in a department related to transportation planning or engineering, public works or public transit. Hourly pay is $10.55. Thirty-eight paid internships are available throughout the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties). A list of internship opportunities and the online application are available at: http://jobs.mtc.ca.gov/InternshipOpportunities/jobinternship.html. Program requirements can be found at: http://www.mtc.ca.gov/jobs/high_school/. MTC’s high school internship coordinator, Michelle Tan, can be contacted at 510.817.5807 for further information.

Students applying with a minimum unweighted grade-point average of 2.8 or above must submit one letter of recommendation. Applications from students with grade-point averages below an unweighted 2.8 will be considered if accompanied by two letters of recommendation. “This is an opportunity for students throughout the entire region,” commented Ann Macaulay, program manager. “We especially need student applications for positions in the northern Bay Area counties.”

Applications will only be accepted online. To apply, submit the completed application, along with a one-page response that describes, in the applicant’s own words, a transportation problem in their community and what the applicant thinks could be done to resolve it. A letter (or letters) of recommendation from a teacher, principal, counselor, religious leader or employer must also be included. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, February 28, 2013. In some counties, the deadline may be extended until the internship positions are filled.

MTC is the regional transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.