Inspiring Young Women Through Transportation Field Trips
As the WTS San Diego Transportation YOU co-chair, Shannon Gonzales, an Office Engineer/Structures Inspector in Kleinfelder Construction Services’ (KCS’s) San Diego office, led the committee in developing an educational field trip program to introduce girls and young women to careers in the transportation industry.
On July 12, 2024, the committee officially launched their program with a field trip that provided more than two dozen middle and high school girls from the Better Education for Women in Science and Engineering (BE WiSE) program an opportunity to tour the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) rail and bus facilities. During the tour, women leaders from MTS shared insights about their roles and experiences in the industry.
Over the course of the field trip, the BE WiSE participants engaged with professionals such as safety managers, directors, grant administrators, bus operators, training supervisors, system safety specialists, and maintenance managers. This event allowed the Transportation YOU committee to educate participants about careers in transportation and also share their own industry experiences.
“I’ve been working towards building this field trip program for several years, so it was very special to me to reach this milestone goal of launching the program with our first field trip,” said Shannon.
She emphasized the collaborative nature of such initiatives, noting, “Comprehensive educational programs like this one require a collective effort to bring meaningful experiences to girls and young women. Our recent field trip would not have been possible without the incredible women at MTS who shared their time and knowledge, as well as our WTS SD TYOU sponsor, Wood Rodgers, Inc.”
Shannon is passionate about inspiring young women to pursue careers in transportation. She believes that exposing them to the field early on is essential for developing future female leaders in the industry. As she explains, “To see more women in transportation, we must introduce them to this career path early and ensure they see women represented in the industry every step of the way.”
