The August/September issue of The Georgia Engineer featured an article on Chester Thomas, the first graduate of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Transportation Engineers of the Future program. Transportation Engineers of the Future is a scholarship program established to encourage the best and brightest students to obtain a master's degree and enter the transportation engineering profession. The article provides an in-depth look at the program's history and purpose. The idea is that in order to meet the needs of a growing society that is very much dependant on a functioning transportation system, the profession must take steps to motivate students to choose transportation as a professional career. Further, a master's degree is regarded by industry as an indication that an individual has completed an intensive level of training in transportation engineering and, as a result, better prepared to enter the industry. Funding for the program is provided through a partnership between the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Georgia-based private companies.
Chester (BSCE '07), a Honduran native and member of the Air National Guard, completed the program in August 2007. Also featured in the article was Marco Trigueros (BSCE '07), who started the program the same year as Chester and will complete it in December. According to CEE Professor Mike Meyer, "Chester and Marco are both incredible students. We could not have asked for a better start to the program. The state of Georgia will benefit from having both of these students complete this program."
To read the full article in The Georgia Engineer, click here (subscription not required).