The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful are inviting 10th- through 12th-grade students from around the state to help keep Pennsylvania clean and beautiful through the Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania program.

The program seeks to build community stewards and civic leaders by inspiring, engaging and empowering young Pennsylvanians to not only keep their communities clean and beautiful but also to become ambassadors in their community for a shared vision of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Applicants should be passionate about the environment and committed to making Pennsylvania the best place to live, work and play through volunteerism and leadership.

The Young Ambassadors program provides opportunities for high school students to train and network with industry leaders, state agencies, local media and the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful network to increase leadership and problem solving skills and prepare them to continue to make differences in their communities and beyond.

Chosen candidates will commit to serve as an Ambassador from October through May 2024 and represent and uphold the mission and values of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

Other responsibilities include attending six mandatory virtual education sessions, conducting a community assessment and creating a summary presentation, organizing and participating in at least one community cleanup event through Pick Up PA and conducting one community education event or activity. There will also be non-mandatory education sessions on a variety of topics.

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful will provide education and training to program participants on topics related to the impact of litter on roadways, litter prevention, waste management and recycling, civic engagement and related public policy, volunteer management and social media marketing. The program will provide networking opportunities to not only build a sense of community within the program but also to promote professional development of the individual students. In addition, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has partnered with Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania funded by the NiSource Charitable Foundation to provide job shadowing days to select Ambassadors.

The Young Ambassadors program was recommended in the commonwealth's Litter Action Plan announced by the governor's office in November 2021 and is funded by PennDOT.

Applications will be accepted through Thursday, Sept. 14. Students will be chosen through a competitive application process. Students interested in applying should visit http://www.keeppabeautiful.org and choose "Programs," "Education" and then "Young Ambassadors of Pennsylvania" or contact Kylie McCutcheon at 724-836-4121, ext. 114, or kmccutcheon@keeppabeautiful.org.

Subscribe to statewide PennDOT news and traffic alerts at http://www.penndot.gov/news; for news from a specific region, click "Regional Offices." Information about the state's infrastructure and results the department is delivering for Pennsylvanians can be found at http://www.penndot.gov/results. Find PennDOT's planned and active construction projects at http://www.projects.penndot.gov.