August 19, 2024
One of the most memorable components of our annual summer internship program is the SCOUT Summit, where all Kittelson interns travel to one office for a few action-packed days of professional development and team building. Since interns work across many different offices, the SCOUT Summit is often where they’re meeting each other in person for the first time. It also provides an opportunity for our interns to be exposed to more aspects of the transportation industry and to provide a forum in which participants can discuss their internship experiences, the studies they are pursuing, and career opportunities down the road. This chance to engage with peers allows many of our interns to begin building a network of future colleagues. It also sparks interest in other areas of transportation in which they may choose to study or work in the future.
In recent years, we have held the SCOUT Summit in Orlando, Portland, and Boise. This year, it took place in our nation’s capital: Washington D.C.
From left to right: Albert Zhang, Lucas Fischer, James Ehmer, Garrett Walker, Brandon Tucker, Jake Porter, Josh Miller, Julius Pieper, Sam Gregory, John Thant Win, Cameron Dougal Michael Durkin, Tim Simmons, Yadiel Duarte, Emilio Calderon, Brisa Porter, Ademola Ibironke, Jackson Marsenison Ruimin Lin, Olivia Curtorillo, Erin Phillips, Raissa Mayumi Bianco, Rosalie Zuckermann, Annie Oomen Nawshin Tabassum, Jessica Caudillo-Roman, Charlotte Sobol
Here are a few highlights from the 2024 SCOUT Summit:
Day 1:
Icebreaker Bingo where all the interns got to know each other a little better by finding out who has run a marathon, who has a twin, who has been skydiving, and more!
A SCOUT Summit Kick-Off and Internship Overview with Principal Engineer Bailey Lozner and founder/Senior Principal Engineer Wayne Kittelson.
All the connections you make will stay with you for a long time. Whether they already happened, will happen during your internship, or later in your career. Take those relationships with you and invest in them.
- Bailey Lozner, Principal Engineer
A session with Alek Pochowski called Envisioning Tomorrow where interns were given a hypothetical situation and asked to come up with solutions for their situations. Some of these situations included the zombie apocalypse, Martian tourists, and teleportation.
Crazy situations can be educational. So, we are asking you to be open to crazy ideas. We are asking you to help us frame the problem. When clients get hit with crazy problems, they go to people they trust. So how can you help them?
- Alek Pochowski, Associate Engineer/Planner
A conversation with CEO Brandon Nevers where any questions (about Kittelson and transportation) were on the table.
When asked about what Kittelson does for career development: “When we hire curious people, even after many years, there’s always a desire to grow and learn about the industry. Which is why we focus on different career development opportunities for everyone at every point in their careers.”
- Brandon Nevers, CEO
A career development session at which the interns learned more about one another’s backgrounds in schooling and career interests. Then, they heard from a panel with Senior Engineer Alex Morgan, Senior Engineer Kaitlyn Schaffer, Senior Planner Riva Heinrich, and Senior Planner John Hicks about their career journeys and how they landed in the transportation industry, including an open forum for Q&A.
As the only technical writing intern, what my engineering and planning peers do has often felt unfamiliar to me. The panels and discussions at the SCOUT Summit, however, illuminated the interconnectedness of all the work we do at Kittelson—how none of us is working in a vacuum, but perpetually learning from and contributing to the greater ecosystem of transportation.
- Rosalie Zuckermann, Lewis and Clark College, Portland Intern
Day 2:
The second day of the SCOUT Summit started off with a Transportation Professionals Panel. Panelists from public agency partners and Kittelson answered questions about their careers and their organizations.
The SCOUT Summit helped me see the bigger picture of this internship. We met with professionals in and outside of Kittelson who provided political and social context for working in transportation, which is invaluable as I continue in my education and career.
- Brandon Tucker, North Carolina State University, Portland Intern
The summit concluded with a (rainy) walking tour of Washington D.C. where the interns got to see constructed Kittelson projects and learn more of their stories.
Looking Ahead to Summer 2025
The Kittelson internship program takes place every summer, holding an integral spot in our culture and reflecting our desire to give back to the profession. We actively seek both graduate and undergraduate students who possess open-mindedness, a powerful desire to explore the transportation field, exceptional critical thinking and complex problem-solving abilities, and motivation to advance in the industry. If this sounds like your kind of experience, stay tuned for Summer 2025 internship applications to open in early September!