Help Save Lives on Virginia Roads This Summer 

Create Programs That Reduce Highway Fatalities 

Here's something you don't hear every day: your summer internship could directly contribute to saving lives on Virginia highways. We need someone to develop a strategic engagement plan that gets early-career law enforcement officers invested in highway safety—and that work has real consequences for crash reduction and traffic safety. 

The Challenge 

Getting new law enforcement personnel’s buy-in on highway safety initiatives and traffic safety enforcement. How do we engage them early? How do we make highway safety a priority from day one? That's what you'll help figure out. 

The Project: Highway Safety Law Enforcement 

Develop a strategic plan to engage new police officers in highway safety initiatives. 

You'll work directly with Highway Safety Office Law Enforcement Program Managers across three regions (Roanoke, Bristol, Staunton) to create an engagement framework that works for real law enforcement agencies. 

What You'll Do: 

Research & Collaboration: 

• Work with law enforcement agencies across three regions 

• Interview early-career officers and program managers 

• Identify what motivates new officers to prioritize traffic safety 

• Learn what strategies actually work on the ground 

Strategic Planning: 

• Develop a practical "how-to" engagement guide for law enforcement agencies 

• Create frameworks for introducing highway safety to new officers 

• Design outreach and community collaboration approaches 

• Build strategies that create long-term buy-in, not just short-term compliance 

Impact Assessment: 

• Help measure increased participation in highway safety activities 

• Track engagement in enforcement and educational initiatives 

• Document community outreach efforts 

Your Deliverable: 

A comprehensive engagement plan and implementation guide that law enforcement agencies can actually use to onboard new officers into highway safety programs—with the ultimate goal of reducing crashes, injuries, and fatalities on Virginia roads. 

Why This Matters: 

Highway crashes are preventable. Traffic fatalities are preventable. But prevention requires buy-in from the officers on the front lines. Your work will help shape how the next generation of Virginia law enforcement approaches traffic safety—and that has direct, measurable impact on lives saved. 

What You'll Learn: 

Professional Skills: 

• Strategic planning and program development 

• Stakeholder engagement with law enforcement 

• Creative problem-solving for organizational change 

• Communication and presentation skills 

• Community collaboration and outreach strategy 

Field Experience: 

• How highway safety programs operate in practice 

• The intersection of law enforcement, public safety, and community relations 

• What motivates behavioral change in professional settings 

• How state agencies partner with local law enforcement 

Career Insight: 

• Direct exposure to criminal justice and public safety careers 

• Understanding of behavioral science in law enforcement contexts 

• Network connections with law enforcement professionals across Virginia 

• Portfolio piece showing strategic planning and community impact work 

The Real Benefit: 

Beyond the resume line, you'll be a highway safety ambassador who deeply understands why safe driving behaviors matter—because you'll have helped build the programs that promote them.