13th Annual Western ITE SLS
January 23 – 25, 2026 · University of California, IrvineWelcome to SLS at UC Irvine 2026!
ITE at UCI is excited to announce that, for the first time, the 13th Annual ITE Western District Student Leadership Summit will be held at UC Irvine in 2026. Please join us for three event-filled days of learning and networking with fellow transportation enthusiasts – both students and professionals!
This website will be kept updated leading up to and during the Summit. For a schedule of the weekend and detailed list of offered events, visit Itinerary. For help with getting to UC Irvine, local transportation, lodging options, and parking, visit the Travel & Stay page.
About the Student Leadership Summit
ITE at UCI was selected to host the 2026 ITE Western District Student Leadership Summit (SLS) following ITE at UCLA's event in early 2025. The annual SLS is a 3-day transportation-focused event with an expected attendance of 250+ students and industry professionals. From January 23rd through 25th, 2026, attendees will take part in field-trips, workshops, a gala-style banquet, a career fair, networking, and much more. This event is a valuable opportunity for students to broaden their industry knowledge in various transportation fields and build their network with industry professionals and student peers. Attendees will be served catered meals from local restaurants that showcase Orange County’s diverse and vibrant food scene.
SLS brings together students and professionals from all over the Western District (encompassing ITE members from California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and more), each with experiences that have developed their enthusiasm for transportation. During the Summit, students and professionals will have the chance to connect, forming lifelong partnerships.
Students and industry professionals – whether in engineering, planning, management, data analytics, or whatever else – are welcome to join us for SLS.
Meet the Team
As they say, SLS wasn't planned in a day. Here's the team that made it happen!
Kailana Nishiura
“SLS is very important to me because of all the memories I have from attending past summits. It is amazing to meet new people from so many different schools, see them again at future events, and catch up! SLS has also been a huge part of bringing our ITE chapter closer together through sharing hotel rooms and meals. Additionally, I always learn something new about transportation at SLS! It is very cool to see how technology and projects evolve each year, allowing me to expand my professional vocabulary! This year, I am very excited for all the events planned for our students, as well as seeing all my friends from across the District!”
Denny Quach
“Bringing everyone together to enjoy UC Irvine’s campus has been a major goal of the ITE leadership team. Originally, we thought our major goal would be hosting the 2025 SoCal Section Traffic Bowl (great job CPP!), but instead, we enthusiastically received word that we would be hosting SLS. We had never achieved something of this caliber, but we were definitely up for the challenge. After many months of meetings, emails, and discussions, not only have we confidently developed a brilliant product, but we have also grown closer as a team and developed further connections with our lovely professionals. As the date draws nearer, we look forward to welcoming you to Irvine in January 2026.”
Ethan Yim
“The Student Leadership Summit is one of the very few opportunities you’ll have as a student to network with a wide pool of peers doing and interested in the same things as you. It was the perfect opportunity for me to meet people from all over the District and learn about transportation while having fun. With this year’s SLS, I’m looking forward to providing the Western District with the beyond-amazing experience I enjoyed during the last two years I attended.”
Benjamin White
“Human beings are in a perpetual state of transportation. Our lives are built around doing the things we enjoy in the places we love, and transportation systems facilitate this enjoyment. My passion for dense and efficient urban environments centers on the essentiality of reliable transit that is accessible to everyone. It is incredibly important to me that new and experienced transportation engineers have spaces to discuss their ideas and collaborate in building more diverse, higher-quality transportation systems. In my experience, SLS is that kind of place—a place where like-minded people who care greatly for their built environment can come together to discuss the future of transportation. I am overjoyed to contribute to the organization of this year's ITE Student Leadership Summit, and I hope to inspire all attendees to put people first as they go on to design incredible transportation networks.”
Tyler Leong
“SLS is a great opportunity to learn more about the transportation engineering community and to network with professionals and students from different ITE chapters. It’s even better when you attend multiple SLS events since you get to reconnect with friends and professionals you met in previous years. For this upcoming SLS, I’m looking forward to meeting new people and learning from professionals in their workshops, field trips, and guest lectures—gaining both technical and soft skills.”
Jose Ramirez
“What I like about SLS is meeting different people who share my interests. It is inspiring to see how many gravitate towards this subject and work toward a common goal. To me, SLS is about community. It’s about uniting people from the community into a concentrated moment where we can all share each other’s company. Through bringing different people together, inspiration and camaraderie are born. I think that’s wonderful. I look forward to hearing the presentations from professionals, but I am perhaps even more excited to attend the banquet.”
Benjamin Chang
“The Student Leadership Summit changed my perspective of ITE from just another social/professional club to a place where one could network, make friends, and get one step closer to the industry. Not only did I meet fellow transportation enthusiasts from around California and the West Coast, but I also met people in my own student chapter. I think SLS is a truly unique opportunity; the summit is hosted by students, primarily for students. Having the chance to see all the complex gears that go into putting together such a massive event is uncommon. With this year's SLS, I look forward to reconnecting with friends across the Western District whom I have met at SLS and the Annual Meeting, and to making new connections with rising transportation students.”
About ITE at UCI
The Institute of Transportation Engineers at UC Irvine (ITE at UCI) strives to advance the future of transportation through research, education, and professional development. We provide the resources to prepare the next generation of transportation engineers and planners to tackle modern mobility challenges in a world of ever-increasing complexity. Through guest speakers, inter-chapter events, professional workshops, and an inviting and connected community, we drive progress in transportation and advance efforts in building a more sustainable, connected, and efficient world.
Visit our website at iteuci.org to learn more!