How North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA) has created a pipeline for future talent with its successful intern scheme

In a conference room at North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA) HQ nearly five years ago, a simple question sparked what would soon become a hugely successful intern program.

Travis Feltes, NCTA toll technology engineer and now intern program director, was sitting with executive director JJ Eden when the conversation turned to helping college students find their path. “JJ was always talking about giving college students an opportunity to really figure out what they want to do in life when they graduate,” says Feltes. “We were just sitting in a conference room, and I said, ‘Well, why don’t we have an intern program here?’ And he said, ‘Okay, create one.’”

That spontaneous moment in 2021 led to NCTA hiring its first three interns – two in technology and one in construction. What started as a seat-of-the-pants operation has now grown into a comprehensive program that has hired 31 interns over five years, with four transitioning to full-time positions. This year marks their largest class yet with nine interns across multiple departments.

Identifying potential

The tolling industry faces a unique challenge that sets it apart from other sectors. As Feltes explains, “There isn’t a university, at least one that I’m aware of, that teaches the tolling industry.”

This knowledge gap creates both a challenge and an opportunity. NCTA’s approach has been to focus on potential rather than specific expertise. “We look for personality, we look for passion, we look for drive,” says Feltes.

The strategy has proven effective, Feltes is delighted that four individuals with no previous tolling experience are now active full-time members of staff. In this feature we profile three interns from the scheme, past and present (above and overleaf).

Making interns matter

One of the NCTA intern scheme’s core principles is assigning meaningful work to interns across all departments. The agency commitment to advancing new technology is one feature that can provide exciting work for interns – for example, it is involved in a number of pilot projects including V2X communication and in-car payment systems.“We might be one of the smaller toll agencies in the country, but we always want to be on the cutting edge of technology,” says Feltes.

The agency is also addressing environmental concerns through technology. Recent intern projects have focused on reducing the physical footprint of toll facilities and exploring cleaner energy solutions.

Hunting high and low

Another reason for the success of NCTA’s intern scheme is that it casts a wide net when recruiting, which is part of the reason it ultimately receives 200-300 applications for just nine positions. Feltes recruits at career fairs across the southeastern United States and NCTA has hired from a dozen universities across Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida. “We cast a broad net because we’re looking for the best talent and the best fit,” says Feltes,

The NCTA program’s success also stems from building genuine relationships with interns. “We’re all blown away with what the intern program has done to the NCTA,” says Feltes. For an industry struggling to attract and develop specialized talent, NCTA’s model offers a proven path forward – benefiting students seeking meaningful experience, as well as agencies needing innovative perspectives on traditional challenges.

Areeba Khokhar

THE DATA PIONEER

Areeba Khokhar was the NCTA Intern Program’s first success story. A freshman computer science student when she applied for the program in 2022, she had no idea what toll technology entailed but was drawn to applying her skills in a new field.

“I was looking for software engineering internships, and there was a posting NCTA, and it was for a toll technology intern. I didn’t know what that was, but I just really wanted to apply computer science in different fields,” says Khokhar.

Her journey from curious student to full-time business intelligence developer illustrates the program’s potential. “I had no idea that there was so much technology in tolling,” she admits and was pleased to find there was room to innovate “There was a lot of freedom to try different technologies and explore different ways of doing things.”

“There was a lot of freedom to try different technologies and explore different ways of doing things”

Today, she processes millions of daily transactions from NCTA’s toll roads, working with tools like Power BI, Python, and SQL to manage data from the Triangle and Monroe Expressways. Her role has now evolved to prepare for new data sources as NCTA expands, including upcoming projects in Charlotte.

Mook Kongruengkit

THE MOULD BREAKER

Mook Kongruenkit brings a different perspective to the program as NCTA’s first female construction intern in the program’s five-year history. Her valuable experience highlights both the challenges and opportunities in diversifying the transportation workforce. “When I was at the career fairs, some of the companies I was talking to did not give me a chance,” says Kongruenkit. “They didn’t give me a second look just because I’m a female in construction. And so I’m very grateful to NCTA for giving me a chance and not looking at my gender, or my size, but actually seeing that I’m passionate about construction, and I’m very eager to learn.”

Currently working on the I-540 Project Phase Two, she shadows inspectors and conducts field testing including density testing and concrete quality control. It has been a valuable, educational experience for her, setting her up for a future career in the sector.

“Some companies didn’t give me a second look because I’m a female in construction, so I’m grateful to NCTA”

“I didn’t understand how important environmental the erosion control is so important with like all the construction world,” she says. “So that has been very eye opening for me.”

Meah Osborne

THE COMMUNICATOR

Meah Osborne’s journey from intern in the class of 2023 to fulltime communications associate demonstrates the program’s ability to develop talent across disciplines. With previous experience in biopharmaceuticals and PR agencies, she was seeking to expand her skill set when she joined NCTA.

“I had zero experience with tolling or transportation in general,” says Osborne. “I had this goal of expanding my tool belt and a lot of different industries.” What set NCTA apart was the quality of work assigned to interns. One project Osborne worked on was App Store creative for NCTA’s mobile app.

“At NCTA it was different. I was working on projects that were being seen and used by the team”

“In other internships I experienced ‘pity projects’, where you didn’t work with the team on projects that they were actually implementing day-to-day. But NCTA was different. I worked on projects that were being seen by the public and used by the team.” Today, she manages public outreach for the Complete 540 project, a 70-mile construction project that will create an expressway around the Raleigh area.

This article was first published in the August 2025 edition of TTi magazine, and is based on an interview conducted by Christopher Court-Dobson for a forthcoming episode of the Transportation Podcast from TTi. Listen wherever you get your podcasts