The mission of the Students and Young Professionals Committee (SYPC) is to develop and implement programs to increase the activity and membership of students and young professionals in the Association. We truly believe that this is a very important group because these individuals are the current and future leaders of our industry.
The FWEA SYPC is proud to coordinate and administer the FWEA Internship Program! The purpose of this program is to help inform and guide talented individuals to reputable companies, utilities, and organizations within the Florida water industry.
For more information or to sign-up as an interested organization or potential intern, please click here.
The FWEA SYPC is launching two new scholarship opportunities for students and young professional utility workers to attend FWRC 2026. For more specifics on these two scholarships, including eligibility criteria, requirements and how to apply, please click here.
The annual Student Design Competition will be held at FWRC in April, 2026
Each year the FWEA SYPC holds the Student Design Competition (SDC) at the Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC), for more information and guidelines for participation please visit: Student Design Competition
Winners of the SDC Environmental and Wastewater categories will be awarded the Norm Casey Scholarship. The Norm Casey Scholarship Fund was established in memory of Norm Casey. An additional travel allowance will fund the winning teams trip to compete at the WEFTEC Student Design Competition to be held in New Orleans in the Fall of 2026.
Students and Young Professionals are welcome to also submit their resumes (as a separate one-page pdf) with their Participation forms. Students will receive a copy of their resume with feedback after the competition.
The YP Workshop will be held at FWRC in April, 2026
Each year the FWEA SYPC, in partnership the FSAWWA YP Committee, holds the Young Professionals Workshop at the Florida Water Resources Conference. This Workshop provides leadership development skills, networking opportunities, and the ability to meet FWEA and FSAWWA leadership.
Each participant must register for the YP Workshop through FWRC. Attendees can sign up for the YP Workshop separately from FWRC registration. Tickets for the YP Workshop will be available on the FWRC event registration site.
For any questions please contact Gabby Squillante at gsquillante@carollo.com or Samar Al Mashrafi at samar.almashrafi@arcadis.com.
The annual Poster Competition will be held at FWRC 2026.
Each year the SYPC, in partnership with FWEA and FSAWWA, holds a poster competition which provides students and young professionals the opportunity to present water, wastewater, and environmental topics at the Florida Water Resources Conference.
Prizes are awarded to the top two posters. Please see the S&YP Poster Competition Guidelines for details and competition rules.
Each participant shall submit a participation form. Participation forms are to be filled out and submitted electronically to the SYPC Coordinator. Participation forms submissions are closed at this time.
Students and Young Professionals are welcome to also submit their resumes (as a separate one-page PDF) with their Participation forms. Students will receive a copy of their resume with feedback after the competition.
The annual Students and Young Professionals Social will be held at FWRC 2026.
Students and Young Professionals are invited to the SYPC Social. Each attendee will receive a drink ticket. Food and games to be provided.
The Social Media Contest will be held during FWRC 2026.
Follow FWEA's social media accounts to participate in the FWRC SYPC social media contest. Prizes and raffles may be yours to win!
YPs are not allowed to nominate themselves but are encouraged to have their supervisors or colleagues submit a nomination form on their behalf. Members of the S&YP Committee are eligible.
Take a look to see what we've been up to:
Are you a student or young professional interested in becoming involved, but don't know how to get started? Please contact:
 | Chair Olga Mikhalchishina |
 | Vice Chair Angel Villarruel-Moore |
 | Past Chair Jissell Muir |
