BATON ROUGE, La. – Employees of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) hosted the 2007 Job Shadowing Day for students of Scotlandville Magnet High School today.

During this event, seven students from Scotlandville Magnet were paired with DOTD engineers and engineer technicians. The day began with a tour of DOTD’s information technology center, which was followed by “shadowing,” when each student accompanied a mentor to his or her workstation. At the end of the day, the students reconvened to eat lunch and share their experiences with one another. 

The student/mentor relationships do not end with Shadowing Day. Some students, mostly those interested in engineering, who are members of the Scotlandville Mentoring Program have had periodic meetings with their mentors.

DOTD Secretary Johnny B. Bradberry said, “I’m gratified that our employees are involved in the community. I’d like to think that our efforts, individually and collectively, will result in some successful business and engineering careers down the road.”

Also during the 2007 Job Shadowing Day, DOTD presented a check for more than $910 to the school’s engineering program. The check was presented by DOTD Deputy Secretary Cedric Grant on behalf of the DOTD employees to Scotlandville Magnet Lead Teacher Beatrice Arvie.

“DOTD’s Job Shadowing Day and monetary donation will greatly help our school to nurture future engineers,” Scotlandville Principal Howard Davis said. “Public schools can always use a helping hand, and Scotlandville Magnet is no exception in that regard.”

The money represents 10 percent of the proceeds from two “Books Are Fun” book sales held at headquarters in 2006 – a one-day sale during the summer and a two-day sale held before Christmas.

Scotlandville Magnet’s engineering group, taught by mechanical engineer Kanika Vessel, will use the money for various projects and field trips, such as Engineering Day at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, according to Arvie.

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DOTD fundraiser: DOTD Deputy Secretary Cedric Grant, right, presents a check for more than $910 to Scotlandville Magnet High School’s Magnet Lead Teacher Beatrice Arvie. The money was raised through a “Books Are Fun” fundraiser held by DOTD employees.

DOTD Job Shadowing Day: DOTD recruiting program manager Janice Drake,  center, welcomes Scotlandville Magnet High students to DOTD’s Job Shadowing Day. From left, students are Donnie Jackson, interested in chemical engineering; Charlaya Washington, interested in computer and electric engineering; Steven Ray, interested in mechanical engineering; Whitney Pollard, interested in mechanical engineering; André Smith, interested in computer engineering; Justin St. Romain, interested in mechanical engineering; and Tyrell Fairley, interested in mechanical engineering. 

Please contact Sherry Dupre at sherrydupre@dotd.la.gov for high-resolution files of these photos.