The National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) is an innovative program to help middle- and high-school students prepare for future careers in transportation and related fields. This summer, students congregated for the NSTI at California State University, Stanislaus in Turlock.

Students participated in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) program, heard from transportation professionals, and even launched air-powered rockets made of two-liter plastic bottles on a sunny day in Turlock.

The program is conducted at between 50 to 60 colleges across the nation and helps develop the next generation of transportation professionals.

Caltrans is the state oversight agency for this program and assisted by securing funding, selecting the schools and conducting site visits. For more information on this program, visit: http://www.dot.ca.gov/obeo/NSTI.html.

A Caltrans ‘News Flash’ video focusing on the summer institute can be viewed at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/paffairs/newsflash/

The News Flash series of videos highlights Caltrans’ activities that present the wide-ranging and critical work that Caltrans does to enhance California’s economy and livability. To see more of these and other videos, search for #CaltransNewsFlash on Twitter or go to http://bit.ly/1ez3LYz.