Seven Students Take Top Honors in Annual Video Contest on America’s Transportation Infrastructure
WASHINGTON – High school students from Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and undergraduates at the University of Washington, Old Dominion University and the University of North Carolina are winners of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association’s (ARTBA) 7th annual “Student Transportation Video Contest.” They will each receive a $500 cash prize.
The association received 40 entries this year in three categories: general transportation, safety, and a new Women Leaders category. Sponsored by ARTBA’s Research and Education Division (RED) and the ARTBA Women Leaders in Transportation Design and Construction Council, the contest raises awareness about infrastructure issues by challenging students to develop a brief video exploring various topics relating to America’s transportation network.
Submission topics included the low-cost, high-reward nature of the gas tax, the effective use of autonomous transportation vehicles, reviews of different technologies used to improve transportation safety and the variety of future career opportunities in the transportation construction industry.
The competition was advertised on college scholarship websites, posted on online video contest sites, shared with Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) members and high schools that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). It was also shared on ARTBA’s social media accounts. ARTBA members reviewed the submissions and selected the winners.
RED General Transportation Category
Age Group One (Elementary, Middle or High School Students)
Alex Slupski and Shabbar Syed, Stanton College Prep, Jacksonville, Fla.
Slupski and Syed are both seniors at Stanton College Prep in Jacksonville, Fla. Their video highlights the effectiveness of an autonomous transportation mover in Jacksonville and its benefits to the city’s transportation system.
Age Group Two (Post-Secondary/College/Graduate Level)
Daniel Shen, University of Washington, Mercer Island, Wash.
Shen is a senior at the University of Washington working to complete a degree in business administration. His video describes the low-cost, high-reward nature of the gas tax, closely examining its overall effects on consumers and federal infrastructure.
RED Safety Category
Age Group One (Elementary, Middle or High School Students)
Nikolas Mclean, Life Center Academy, Willingboro, N.J.
Mclean is a sophomore at Life Center Academy in Willingboro, N.J. His video provides an overview of new car safety features and their impact on reducing fatal car crashes.
Age Group Two (Post-Secondary/College/Graduate Level)
Garland Johnson III, Old Dominion University, Richmond, Va.
Johnson is a freshman majoring in computer engineering at Old Dominion University in Richmond, Va. By putting his computer animation skills to use, his video reviews different technologies used to improve safety in the transportation industry, focusing on new developments in motorway, railway, and airplane technologies that help keep passengers safe.
Women Leaders Council Category
Age Group One (Elementary, Middle or High School Students)
Sophi Schneider, Upper Dublin High School, Dresher, Pa.
Schneider’s video discusses autonomous vehicles and their potential to reduce traffic fatalities as well as ways to make a difference by pursuing a career in transportation. She is a sophomore at Upper Dublin High School in Dresher, Pa.
Age Group Two (Post-Secondary/College/Graduate Level)
Chloe Arrojado, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Arrojado is a sophomore journalism major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her video highlights a variety of future career opportunities in the transportation construction industry.
Established in 1902, Washington, D.C.-based ARTBA is the “consensus voice” of the U.S. transportation design and construction industry before Congress, federal agencies, the White House, news media and the general public
