Celebrating 10 years of success in recruiting diversity at MDOT

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a reflection on 10 years of success in MDOT’s Transportation Diversity Recruitment Program (TDRP). 

The 10-week program allows students to work alongside other on-the-job training program participants, internal staff and external professionals who provide engineering, technical, inspection, and project management services for state road and bridge projects.   

First, James Jackson, strategy director for MDOT’s TDRP, talks about the satisfaction he gains from working with students and the more than 50 who participated this year. The department released a video Aug. 1 featuring some of the students, highlighting the success of the program.  

Later, we hear from Zaya Wright, who graduated in the spring from Southern and A&M College and is finishing her second year in the TDRP program. 

Zaya talks about her goals to work in civil engineering and transportation and the satisfaction she draws from the process of designing and building safe roads and bridges.