Women Pursuing Careers in Transportation Scholarship

WTS: Advancing Women In Transportation is an international organization with over 5,000 members and 46 chapters. WTS is committed to excellence in the transportation industry and provides an opportunity for member career advancement through the exchange of information, ideas and experiences. WTS’ network provides professional support to its members through a variety of services, including career development assistance, seminars on current transportation issues, and regular newsletters.

To encourage women pursuing careers in transportation, the Greater Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter of WTS awards three local scholarships to a graduate ($1,500) and two undergraduate ($1,000 each) students. The scholarships are open to students attending an eligible college or university (see attached listing) in Texas and Oklahoma. These scholarships have been made possible through generous contributions from our corporate members. Every year, the scholarships are competitive and based on the applicant’s specific transportation involvement and goals, job skills and academic record. Minority candidates are encouraged to apply. Past applicants have had backgrounds in civil, mechanical, aerospace, electrical, and environmental engineering, as well as urban planning, public policy, public safety, and emergency response. Please encourage your students to apply for these scholarships.

All over the world, local WTS chapter scholarship winners become eligible for a corresponding scholarship at the WTS Foundation level. Two scholarships are available for graduate students and two scholarships are available for undergraduate students studying at universities. Additionally, the WTS Foundation offers one scholarship for a community college/technical/trade school student and one scholarship for a high school senior. Our chapter does not have a local scholarship corresponding to the WTS Foundation graduate leadership scholarship, community college/technical/trade school scholarship or the Transportation YOU high school scholarship, but applicants must still apply through the eligible local chapter. The local and national scholarships are based on the same criteria in order to maximize the possibility that the applicant can also win the WTS Foundation scholarship award. Thus, applicants should complete the enclosed applications to be eligible for both local and national awards. The three local WTS scholarships are:

·         Wanda J. Schafer Graduate Scholarship, established in 2002 in honor of the first chapter president of the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter, is designed to encourage women to pursue career paths in transportation. This is a $1,500 scholarship awarded to a student pursuing graduate studies in transportation or a related field.

·         Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter WTS Undergraduate Scholarship, is designed to foster the development of women in the transportation field by encouraging bright new professionals to undertake careers in transportation. This award is for $1,000.

·         Monique Pegues Undergraduate Leadership Scholarship, named in memory of a past president of the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter to motivate and reward women who demonstrate leadership in the transportation industry. This is a $1,000 scholarship.

Your university may have several deserving women who are eligible for one or more of these scholarships and we are asking for your assistance in making the application forms available to them. Please encourage any women meeting the minimum criteria to apply. The applications are simple and straightforward and may be downloaded from http://www.nctcog.org/trans/wts.  The application form and accompanying transcript, personal statement, and letter(s) of recommendation must be post marked no later than Friday, October 25, 2013, in order to be eligible for the scholarships. We expect to notify the women selected in December 2013.

We appreciate your assistance and wish your candidates the best of luck. If you have any questions, contact Amanda Wilson at (817) 695-9284 or awilson@nctcog.org.