Students & Young Professionals Committee

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.

Check out all the SYP events happening at FWRC!

Internship Program

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.

Student Design Competition

The annual Student Design Competition will be held at FWRC on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at the Gaylord Palms.

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. This scholarship will fund their trip to compete at the 2024 WEFTEC Student Design Competition to be held in New Orleans in Fall 2024.

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.

YP Workshop

The YP Workshop will be held at FWRC on Friday, April 5, 2024 at the Gaylord Palms.

Each year the FWEA SYPC, in partnership the FSAWWA SYPC, 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.

Poster Competition

The annual Poster Competition will be held at FWRC on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at the Gaylord Palms.

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 shall be submitted by March 15, 2024.

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.

Resume Workshop

The annual Resume Workshop will be held at FWRC on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at the Gaylord Palms during the student design competition.

Resume workshop will be held after the Student Design Competition. This workshop will provide insight and advice on constructing and developing an effective resume.

Students and Young Professionals who participate in the Student Design Competition and/or Poster Competition are welcome to submit a resume. These resumes will be reviewed and feedback will be provided after FWRC. Please include your resume as a separate one-page pdf with your participation forms.

Students and Young Professionals Social

The annual Students and Young Professionals Social will be held at FWRC on Thursday, April 5, 2024 at the Gaylord Palms.

Students and Young Professionals are invited to the SYPC Social that will be April 5, 2024. Each attendee will receive a drink ticket. Food and games to be provided.

Social Media Contest

The Social Media Contest will be held at FWRC.

Follow FWEA's social media accounts to participate in the FWRC SYPC social media contest. Prizes and raffles may be yours to win!

Young Professional of the Year Award: Accepting Nominations!

Each year the SYPC administers the "Young Professional of the Year" award, recognizing outstanding service to FWEA. The SYPC is accepting nomination packets for the YP of the Year 2024 award. The FWEA YP of the Year is an outstanding young professional that shows leadership, initiative, technical knowledge and actively participates within FWEA. The winner will be announced and awarded at the FWEA Awards Luncheon. The winner also earns a paid trip to attend the annual AWWA/WEF YP Summit. The winner may also be recognized in the Florida Water Resources Journal, FWEA S&YP Website, social media and other publications. Past recipients of the YP award can be seen here.

If you know of an outstanding FWEA YP, please nominate them using this FORM. Nomination forms must be received by January 26, 2024 by 5:00 PM in order to be considered. Forms shall be submitted to the S&YP Chair.

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.