At Wells + Associates, we have provided internship opportunities for university engineering students for many years. But it’s not often that we get to work directly within the field of secondary education. In particular, helping bright high school students on transportation engineering projects. So we were delighted when that opportunity came from a high school just down the road from our Tysons office.
When Michelle Yun of BASIS Independent McLean school in McLean, Virginia set out to complete a transportation engineering project for school, she decided to go beyond writing a traditional research paper. Instead, Michelle took on the challenge of analyzing a real transportation improvement project in the Seven Corners area of Fairfax County using Synchro/SimTraffic, software widely used by transportation engineers to evaluate issues such as traffic operations, efficiency, safety, and intersection performance.
To better understand the technical aspects of the project, Michelle reached out to Wells + Associates for guidance. Recognizing her enthusiasm and commitment to learning, Larry Sefcik, a veteran Senior Associate at W+A, volunteered his time to mentor her throughout the project.
Said Larry: “I just couldn’t believe that a high school student was even interested in traffic engineering, much less evaluating a county project. That was intriguing to me.”
Engineering Mentorship: Traffic Engineering Fundamentals and Software Modeling
Over the course of several online meetings, Larry introduced Michelle to the fundamentals of traffic analysis, demonstrated how Synchro/SimTraffic is used to model roadway conditions, and helped her navigate the software as she reevaluated the existing transportation project.
Through this hands-on experience, Michelle gained valuable insight into the engineering principles and analytical processes that shape transportation improvements in Northern Virginia.
Instead, Michelle took on the challenge of analyzing a real transportation improvement project in Fairfax County using Synchro/SimTraffic, software widely used by transportation engineers to evaluate issues such as traffic operations, efficiency, safety, and intersection performance.
Michelle compiled her project into a comprehensive 26-slide presentation created with Google Docs. Her presentation explained the goals of the Seven Corners project, summarized her traffic analysis, and included simulation slides that demonstrated how traffic operations could be visualized and evaluated using Synchro/SimTraffic.
She also demonstrated the software by showing simulation patterns in and out of her school. The final presentation reflected not only her research and technical understanding but also the practical knowledge she gained through working with an industry professional.
For students exploring STEM fields, we have long believed that hands-on mentorship is invaluable to educational and career development. In this case, it was inspiring to see how Larry’s sharing of his expertise and real-world experience helped Michelle transform a classroom assignment into an authentic engineering experience. Way to go, Michelle!
Final Result: Acing the Project
By the way, Michelle’s hard work and dedication paid off – she received a perfect score of 100! Congratulations Michelle on a school project well-done!