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Maryland’s TRAC program draws talented women and minorities to transportation
TRAC prepares students for jobs in the transportation industry
By Sue Marquette Poremba
Contributing Editor
 The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT, www.mdot.state.md.us) is doing its part to add new faces to the field of civil engineering. Maryland is one of the first of twenty-two states to adopt a hands-on education outreach program for high school and junior high school students.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) the nation will need to increase the number of civil engineers by 18 percent in the next eight years to design and construct or expand the nation’s roads, bridges and other public infrastructure.
The Transportation and Civil Engineering (TRAC, www.trac.net) program was developed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (www.transportation.org) to increase the participation of minorities and women in transportation and civil engineering careers.
The program is designed to teach students how to apply a variety of math and science concepts to common engineering problems of transportation systems. The strategy is to engage students in solving real-world problems and get them hooked on transportation.
A state Department of Transportation (DOT) generally sponsors the program with a DOT official serving as director. The DOT works in partnership with other government organizations, universities, nonprofits and private industry. Together they develop activities for students that are based on real-world transportation problems.
MDOT has a long history with TRAC
MDOT adopted the TRAC program in 1992. Myneca Ojo, diversity director at the Maryland State Highway Administration, says that Maryland’s program works closely with the state’s department of education and with private business partners like the American Council of Engineering Companies (www.acec.org) and the Maryland Asphalt Association (www.mdasphalt.org).
TRAC PAC, a collection of eight self-contained high-school-level education modules, is the core of the program. They cover bridge design, city development, design and construction, environmental engineering, highway safety, magnetic levitation, motion and traffic technology, and contain everything needed for hands-on activities, including teacher instructions.
 Maryland’s TRAC program has a partnership with Johns Hopkins University. “We train the school’s engineering grad students on the TRAC PAC so they can train teachers on how to use the program,” Ojo notes.
“We also promote transportation and civil engineering careers through a bridge design contest, which is run in partnership with Morgan State University,” she reports. Middle and high school students are invited from all over the state to compete in the TRAC Design-Build Challenge.
“The kids register in teams and we provide the tools,” Ojo explains. The contestants then bring their entries to be judged by a team from the DOT’s bridge design office.
TRAC internships
provide hands-on experience
Ojo boasts a strong recruitment push that offers year-long internships to college students in transportation-related majors. There are summer internships for high school students as well. “The emphasis on college internship participation sets our TRAC program apart from the national outreach,” she says.
Personal development seminars are part of the college internship program. Ojo says that her office arranges partnerships between each intern and an employee mentor where the student has been assigned.
 Maryland TRAC regional director Gary Brown explains that the role of the mentor is to guide the student on how to apply what’s been learned in class. “If the student has questions or is interested in other areas, the mentor can guide the student in the proper direction,” he says.
Ojo notes that TRAC participants are not the only ones who benefit from mentoring. “We strongly promote mentoring partnerships because of the political culture within this work environment,” she says. “Relationships with people already in the industry lead to jobs that benefit both the student and us.”
Internships for high school students cover a ten-week period starting in June and ending before school begins in the fall. College interns start in June as well, but must commit to a full year. Some have an option to continue a second year.
Brown notes that college students must be enrolled in school and submit a class schedule to participate. “They work as many hours as they can through arrangements with their departments,” he explains.
Interns are assigned to a team and work on a specific project. At the end of the session, each intern must make an official presentation to administrators on what was learned.
Ojo says that one DOT office runs a group project for the TRAC interns each year. The Office of Highway Design ran the last project, which involved designing a walking trail off Route 32 in Maryland. The interns worked closely with the engineers to discuss every aspect. “It’s amazing the particulars that go into these projects, down to the trees and the rocks and the type of benches,” she says.
Looking for a
career in transportation
 Maryland’s TRAC program offers ten internships for college students each year. The students need high GPAs and proficiency in math, plus a record of good class attendance. A letter of recommendation is also important. “We’re looking for students who are seeking careers in civil engineering,” Ojo says.
The initial screening is done by Ojo’s department. “It’s our job to make sure the intern truly plans to work in the transportation industry,” she notes. Applications of those who pass the first round are forwarded to managers in the various DOT departments. They take over the interview and selection process.
Among the 2008 summer interns, one went into finance, another went into IT and a third went into human resources. The rest worked as engineers in the Office of Bridge Design and the Office of Highway Design.
“We’re an engineer-driven organization,” says Ojo. “No matter where the student is working, there will be an engineering component.” An IT student might work with CAD or mapping tools. In finance, the student may be working on projects involving engineering dollars or federal contracts.
“It’s a wonderful program,” says Ojo. “Many of our students end up with careers in our DOT, so it has been a good recruiting tool for us.”
D/C
Sue Marquette Poremba is an engineering and construction writer in State College, PA.
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