STV engineering specialist Gina Venuto-Gabriella represented the firm and the Philadelphia Chapter of Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS) at the WTS 2023 Capital Summit, which was recently held at the University of Maryland. The annual summit is spearheaded by WTS’s Transportation YOU mentor program, which introduces young women in high school to STEM education and career paths. The 2023 Capital Summit brought together mentors and mentees from WTS chapters across the country. High school students and recent graduates connect with peers, participate in presentations on the latest industry trends and panels on college life and transportation career paths, and tour local transit agencies.  

Venuto-Gabriella attended with her mentee, Mia Karl, who will be furthering their education in urban planning at Rowan College of South Jersey this fall.  

“We visited the US Capitol, the US Department of Transportation, BWI Airport, Amtrak, and even rode the DC Metro,” said Venuto-Gabriella, who is also co-chair of WTS Philadelphia’s Transportation YOU chapter. “With a behind-the-scenes look into these agencies, mentees learned about everything from artificial intelligence in transit vehicles to Amtrak train operations. It’s a great opportunity for mentees to expand their professional network and see what life is like as a transportation professional.”  

Venuto-Gabriella supported Karl throughout the summit, helping them make connections as they engaged more deeply with the transportation industry. For both mentor and mentee, the experience was highly rewarding.  

“Working with Mia at the summit and throughout the past school year has boosted my confidence. I want to be a mentor to younger transportation professionals at STV as well,” Gina said. “My favorite part of the summit was connecting with other mentors. I didn’t know anyone going into it but learned so much about other WTS chapters and met so many awesome people working in transportation.”