~Photos by Bobbie Toner

This past summer, MassDOT University conducted the 4th Annual MassDOT MBTA Intern Transportation Institute (ITI). The interns’ graduation celebration took place on Monday, August 21.

Immediately following the 11:30 a.m. lunch, the ceremony began at with dignitaries speaking to the interns, followed by the formal PowerPoint presentations by the students on their ITI experiences.

Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Jeff Gonneville, and Boston Private Industry Council Executive Director- Neil Sullivan, were in attendance with speeches and presentations of certificates of completion.

18 students from Somerville High School Vocational Programs, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, Josiah Quincy Upper School, and Boston Latin School have worked at various MassDOT MBTA locations including: Carpentry, Metal/Body, Auto Tech (Arlington, Cabot, Everett), the Green Line, IT, Real Estate and Safety.

Somerville High School CTE students completed their internship with the MBTA exploring career pathways in the transportation industry. These students were given a chance to explore hands-on in the bus yards as part of the new MassDOT University program. Students from the Automotive Technology, Carpentry, and Welding program got to see what each of their program of study is like in the transportation industry and that it takes more than just one specific field to make the any industry run smooth. Somerville High School plans to continue to use MassDOT internship to give students a smoother transition into entry-level work.

The multitude of partnerships have contributed to make the Intern Transportation Institute a model for other organizations; providing the youth a broadened perspective of the MassDOT MBTA transportation industry in ways very few have had the opportunity to do.