DOTD hosts Job Shadowing Day for Scotlandville Magnet High School students
Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 4:30:34 PM
DOTD Secretary William D. Ankner, Ph.D., left, presents a check for more than $479 to Dilton Anderson, right, a member of Scotlandville Magnet High School's advisory council, who is accepting the money on behalf of the school's engineering program. The money was raised by DOTD employees through two book fairs held last year. The students pictured are seniors in the school's engineering program who participated in DOTD's Job Shadowing Day. From left, students are Jerod Trotter, Steven Robins, Garrett McKinley, Allen Reed and Iris Smith.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Employees of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) hosted the 2008 Job Shadowing Day for students of Scotlandville Magnet High School today.

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

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

DOTD Secretary William D. Ankner, Ph.D., said, “Our department has a stake in training a new generation of engineers. The future of transportation in Louisiana is in the hands of our youth. They need to be engaged in engineering. I am grateful to the students, school staff and my engineers for developing this program and engaging in the transfer of knowledge.”

Also during the 2008 Job Shadowing Day, DOTD presented a check for more than $479 to the school’s engineering program. On behalf of the DOTD employees, Ankner presented the check to Dilton Anderson, a member of Scotlandville Magnet’s advisory council. Anderson, a civil engineer who works for MAP Group Inc., has a son in the school’s engineering program.

Tyrone Carter, left, and Jason Dunlap, second from right, of DOTD's Information Technology (IT) section give a tour of DOTD's IT Center to students who participated in DOTD's Job Shadowing Day. The students – all seniors in Scotlandville Magnet High School's engineering program – are, from left, Jerod Trotter, Allen Reed, Garrett McKinley, Iris Smith and Steven Robins.

“DOTD’s Job Shadowing Day and monetary donation will greatly help our school 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 DOTD headquarters in 2007 – a one-day sale during the summer and a two-day sale held before Christmas.

Scotlandville’s Magnet Lead Teacher Beatrice Arvie said the engineering group, taught by mechanical engineer Kanika Vessel, will use the money for various projects and field trips.