University of Michigan Hosts MDOT Student Interns

On Thursday, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) hosted twenty student interns from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Transportation Diversity Recruitment Program (TDRP) for a full day of presentations, tours and discussion sessions.

The TDRP is a partnership between MDOT and Michigan colleges and universities that offers on-the-job training to undergraduate students pursuing degrees in engineering. The program employs college students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to learn more about civil engineering and careers in the transportation workforce at MDOT while exploring educational institutions in the state of Michigan for dual degree and graduate school programs.

The TDRP gives students real-world experience and a glimpse of what a career in transportation engineering could look like.

“Working with MDOT opened my eyes a lot,” said Brandon Hilton, now in his second year in the TDRP. “I’m interested in it all, really.”

During the afternoon breakout sessions, Hilton’s interest in transportation led him to talk to Neda Masoud, a CEE assistant professor focusing on intelligent systems and next generation transportation systems. Other CEE faculty members facilitated separate small group discussions on different focus areas.

Earlier in the day, the students heard from University of Michigan civil and environmental engineering professor and department chair Jerome Lynch and Michigan State University civil and environmental engineering associate professor Timothy J. Gates. Representatives from across the university also presented on graduate funding opportunities, student organizations and international study.