Talking Michigan Transportation

Another successful launch of MDOT’s diversity recruitment program

• Michigan Department of Transportation • Season 6 • Episode 182

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On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations about the past, present and future of 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, who coordinates the program for MDOT, talks about what the students can expect. This is the eleventh year of the program.

Later, Donte Harris, a three-time intern, now working for the electric vehicle charging startup company it’s electric in Detroit, talks about how the TDRP program helped him.

Jeff Cranson:

Hi, welcome to the Talking Michigan Transportation Podcast. I'm Jeff Cranson. Today I'm going to be speaking first with James Jackson, who coordinates the Transportation Diversity Recruitment Program for MDOT. He's been at it for a number of years they're actually in their 11th season now with a group of 40-some interns who are coming to us from colleges really across the country and we'll do an intense 10-week program doing all kinds of things related to transportation and hopefully helping them sort out what they might want to do as a career in the field.

Jeff Cranson:

And then later I'll be talking to Donte Harris, who participated in the program for three different years and is now working in fields related to what he learned during his internship and he'll talk about what it meant to him and why this program was valuable. So I hope you enjoy the conversations, all right? So again I'm first with James Jackson, who has been coordinating the TDRP that's, transportation Diversity Recruitment Program at MDOT for a number of years. James, thanks for taking time to talk about this. I know how busy you are, having just launched this year's program, but talk a little bit about what's new and what you're looking forward to coming out of this season.

James Jackson:

Absolutely, Jeff thanks. Thanks for having me. One of the things I'm most proud of is we're really embracing inclusive excellence. Proud of is we're really embracing inclusive excellence. So you asked what was new. Um, not only have we championed focusing on partnering with MSI's, Minorities Serving Institutions such as HBCUs, we also have been working diligently to engage with HSIs, Hispanic Serving Institutions and also organizations that serve our indigenous population. It's really important that the footprint of our state is represented and sometimes it takes a lot of time before people trust you. But we are actively pursuing that trust and hopefully pretty soon we'll be able to see the fruit of that.

Jeff Cranson:

So we were traditionally focused on HBCUs historically black colleges and universities. You've kind of broadened the scope of the program by making it more about MSIs that include some of those other groups. Is that new this year?

James Jackson:

Actually, it's new this year in terms of our intentional effort to recruit. However, how would I say? Through partnering with Federal Highway Administration, we really want to show MDOT as an agency that's truly committed to not only diversity initiatives but inclusivity and belonging. So in order to do that, we've been partnering to attend some of the conferences, like SHIP. SHIP is Society of Hispanic Professional Engineering Conference and we hope to attend ACES is Advancing Indigenous People in STEM.

Jeff Cranson:

So but yeah, we're, we're actually just reaching out so that we can broaden our reach to, to share a better blueprint of who we are as an agency that is committed to serving the people, and you touched on this early, but I think that we should probably put a finer point on it, and it's something that we shouldn't take for granted. We have a very diverse state and we need a workforce that looks like the people that we serve. That's what this is all about the people that we serve. That's what this is all about. Have you found that, when the kids, when you talk to them about that, that that's something that really interests them, that idea that they can be part of something that helps with that kind of you know, I guess a more progressive thought about how the department operates?

James Jackson:

Absolutely, especially when attending let's just use an HBCU, for example. When attending an HBCU, you're surrounded by a lot of people who look like you, but they come from various backgrounds, they have various differing abilities and things like that. So literally giving them an opportunity as I always state to share the color of their genius Right, you know. So we get past the X, you know how someone looks externally, but we start thinking about who they are as people, and to see an agency that is committed to those things really causes the students to really want to be part of what we have to offer here.

Jeff Cranson:

So this is the 11th year, and just making it to 11 years, getting beyond a decade in itself, I think, signifies success. Talk to me about how you measure success for the program.

James Jackson:

Great question, and I'm pausing, you know, because if I would just say, oh, it's X, y and Z. Really, how I measure success for the program is the awareness of the value that the students bring, the commitment to partnering with our private sector. Partnering with our private sector, just kind of showing that there's the power of one, you know, private sector, public sector and MDOT all working together to show that we are committed to our governor's initiatives and values to bring great people to. How does she call it? She calls it the fresh coast, the fresh coast.

Jeff Cranson:

Oh yeah, the fresh coast.

James Jackson:

The fresh coast. So, yeah, so just partnering to bring people together to show that, no matter how we look, no matter whether it's a small business, a large business or a government, that we all collectively are committed to fixing the roads and providing safe environments and also providing opportunities for all.

Jeff Cranson:

Yeah, I really like that theme and I wonder, because you bring in some of these students from universities in the southern states, some of whom I'm guessing are coming to Michigan for the first time what do you most often hear or what sticks out in your mind to them that maybe surprises them about Michigan?

James Jackson:

Really what surprises them is that it's not as cold as the myths state. People hear Michigan and they're immediately thinking snow is going to be falling. But also what surprises them when you see a culture of people that look different, have different genders, different interests, but are all collectively committed to helping each other. That's one thing I believe that MDOT does really well. No matter what differences people have, we all come together and work well to solve problems. No matter how diverse or different the different work groups are, you know that are here them, not.

Jeff Cranson:

And ultimately, I guess what you want to see in this order is the students to succeed in the program and then maybe have this internship translate into some kind of work in the field or related field, and then ideally in Michigan, right, and you're seeing some of that.

James Jackson:

Oh, absolutely, point in case this this summer we had excuse me. This spring we had a gentleman that was part of our program for four three years consecutively. He attended Morehouse College, which is an HBCU. His home state is New Mexico, so he was able to work in the program, I believe, in 2018, 19 and 20. However, he chose to matriculate to University of Michigan to complete his master's. Now he actually made it back to working in a startup that is working on electrifying the infrastructure, and I am proud to know and proud to say that he was one of MDOT's TDRP, which helps him understand what we do and why we do it to serve the people.

Jeff Cranson:

So that is actually an accomplishment if you ask me and this is Dante Harris, who I'll be talking to for the second segment of the show today. So that's a that's a great setup for Dante.

James Jackson:

Oh, awesome, awesome, yeah, yes, so not only him, but when the students heard what he had to say, they were excited. I had about four students on a panel that had great experiences with MDOT and had moved here from out of state, and we have several. I wish we could hire all the talent that we hired, but there's several students that are still in transportation and actually work here in other states, and I think that's a great accomplishment as well.

Jeff Cranson:

Well, at the launch last week on Friday in Detroit, I sensed that enthusiasm in the room and how excited the students were and how inspiring Donte was when he spoke to the group. I think you're right there was a lot of excitement and I think that's contagious. James, thanks as always for taking time to talk a little bit about this. Congratulations on another successful launch and I'll be eager to catch up with you at the end of the 10-week program to get your take on this year's crop and what they got out of the program. All right, thank you so much. When I come back, you'll hear first from Lieutenant Governor Garland Gilchrist, who spoke to the students to kick off the day and talked about his own experiences as an intern and a mentor, and then that'll be followed up with my conversation with Dante Harris. So stay tuned.

Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist:

I want to congratulate all of the interns and I hope that they have an amazing time here in the state of Michigan the Michigan Department of Transportation is one of our premier state agencies does work that touches almost every single person in Michigan, and so to have the kind of real internship experience that gives you a chance to make real decisions, to have real impact on real people's lives, that's the kind of thing that can change your career for the better, and so I'm really proud of MDOT for having this program yet again.

Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist:

Well, I've benefited from having real, meaningful internship experiences, whether it's at General Motors or at Microsoft. It sort of showed me what industry really looked like, but the kinds of decisions that you had to make day to day on a job, the kinds of things you have to consider, the pressure, what it means to show up every day and show up in the best possible way, and so I learned a lot about professionalism experience. I worked with engineers, I worked with technicians, I worked with back office professionals, and so it really gave me a 360 degree view of what my career could be like. And so, when I was actually in engineering, that benefited me specifically and let me know exactly what I was being signed up for.

Jeff Cranson:

So, again, that was the lieutenant governor that you heard from who kicked off this year's program and now, as promised, I'm with Donte Harris, who was a three time intern in the TDRP program and now he's working in Detroit. The first thing I've got to know Dante is after spending time in the program and completing a master's at the University of Michigan, but you came from a long ways away. What intrigued you enough to want to stay in Michigan?

Donte Harris:

Hey, Jeff, first of all, it's a pleasure to be here to answer your question. During my time in the internship I got to see a lot of Michigan. So, coming out, they had me staying in Lansing and I spent a lot of time in both Ann Arbor and Lansing, got to see a lot of the state and I really loved it, and then also just exploring University of Michigan, seeing that they were doing a lot of things in transportation that I was interested in, such as the EVs and autonomous vehicle work.

Jeff Cranson:

It really inspired me to continue looking at University of Michigan as a possible grad school option and somehow got it. Talk about your time in the program and how it's informed, what you're doing now. I mean, you're in a very pioneering industry, obviously, as we go full bore into the EV world and everything that the state is committing in terms of resources to basically support some of our state's largest employers and what they're saying about you know what people are going to want in their vehicles in the future, so talk about all of that.

Donte Harris:

Yeah. So from the program, the biggest thing I would say that it gave me was exposure. It showed me a lot of just different work in construction as a whole, as well as just introduction to contractors and what that world is like. Then you add to that, like I mentioned us exploring campuses like University of Michigan and Michigan State and just seeing a lot of the footwork being done in Michigan as a whole. It really showed you that Michigan is still one of the leads in mobility, and so being able to see M-City and things like that during my time was honestly super important and I probably wouldn't be here without it. So, yeah, I would say the exposure is the biggest thing, and then experience, of course, managing projects definitely helped as well.

Jeff Cranson:

Yeah, so talk about what you do as a, as a project manager, for is it ITS electric?

Donte Harris:

Yep, it's electric. But yeah, main thing I do is find site locations because what we do is we partner with different properties and we use their spare capacity to put our charges our charges. So I'm constantly speaking with different potential property partners securing those deals, and then after that I'm working with contractors so we can get quotes and, of course, award a contractor with the best quote and get the installation going. That's paired with doing the permitting process and all types of many tasks that you wouldn't typically think of until you're actually in the field, and so MDOT did a good job prepping me for a lot of that stuff, even though, of course, as an intern, I had a lot of assistance. But since I came back two times after my very first time, they constantly gave me more responsibility and a little less assistance, so it really helped develop me into the man I am today.

Jeff Cranson:

I think what you're getting at and that's really interesting is you're setting aside the technical skills that you developed and what you learned in the field about the hands-on part of the job, but it's really about just gaining confidence and trusting that you can take on the next challenge. So talk about how that helped.

Donte Harris:

Yeah. So of course, coming into MDOT, they had me on sites at about 20, 21 years old, so I was often the youngest in the area, but I was still the person that they would report to to update on the status of projects and things like that. So it just got me comfortable being a young leader in this field, which is important because, of course, the first couple of times going to sites I was real nervous. And then, come year three, I'm managing my own 16 and a half mile long project right outside of Lansing. I'm doing good with no issues.

Jeff Cranson:

Stay with us. We'll have more on the other side of this important message.

James Jackson:

In Michigan. Safety comes first on the roads. To combat distracted driving, Michigan passed the Hands-Free Law.

Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist:

The law makes holding or manually using a cell phone or other mobile electronic device while operating a vehicle a primary offense. This means an officer can stop and ticket you for violating the law.

MDOT/MSP Message:

This can include, but not limited to, sending or receiving a call, sending, receiving or reading a text or email, accessing, reading or posting to social media sites or entering locations into the phone GPS.

Jeff Cranson:

With this law in place, drivers are encouraged to stay focused, keeping their hands on the wheel and their attention on the road. Drive smart, drive safe, drive hands-free.

MDOT/MSP Message:

Michigan's hands-free law making the road safer for everyone.

Jeff Cranson:

So, given all the challenges you know that we know still face EVs, part of it obviously is getting the cost down. And then there's anxiety, you know range anxiety in that sense that we're not going to have enough charging, which is obviously what you're working at. But what do you hear when you talk to, you know, people of your age group or family and friends about this? Do you find a growing comfort with the advent of EVs or do you still find a lot of trepidation?

Donte Harris:

I would say it's a mixed bag with my generation. I feel like a lot of us are more open to the idea of it and becoming more invested. I do believe that infrastructure is the biggest issue that's driving people away from electric vehicles, as they don't have full confidence that they'll be able to charge, especially for those that stay in apartments or renters, for example. With the older generation it's a little different, because you always have to remember that they're familiar with one way, so introducing a new way of life at this stage is kind of hard to imagine. So it's just gonna be time spent with that group to get them more comfortable. Things such as ride and drives and just more information around EVs is always something helpful with that. So I always just try to talk to people and provide more education and a little peace of mind that we can do this and we will do it right.

Jeff Cranson:

So I think what came through from your presentation to the group, when you spoke to the students, was the importance of being able to communicate, be able to talk about what you do. You know, that kind of emotional intelligence, being able to make those connections. That's not really anything you learned in your physics curriculum, you know, or in your master's curriculum. So do you think that a lot of that came from your time as an intern?

Donte Harris:

Definitely from my time as an intern and also my time in the National Society of Black Engineers, I feel like just staying involved is always the best way to practice things like that. You're constantly going to be introduced to different people and you have no choice but to speak, so just being in environments where you have to do that definitely gets you more. I would always point to TDRP as one of those examples.

Jeff Cranson:

So your fondest hope, you look into your crystal ball for the future. You know, what do you see? Or, I guess, hope for you and for it's Electric.

Donte Harris:

So it's Electric is growing fast. I won't get into too many of the details, but I just want to continue to watch this grow and have our charges all over the place, especially in a city like Detroit where mobility is so big. It's electric being one of the most recognized charges would be an amazing feat for me.

Jeff Cranson:

That's what you mean is a brand right?

Donte Harris:

As a brand.

Jeff Cranson:

Yes, yeah, that's great, that' s something great to aspire to. Well, anything else you want to say about TDRP, the program, and you know how it got you to where you are now.

Donte Harris:

I will say TDRP again was a major help in my career development. They introduced me to many people. I always want to thank Aaron Hengsbauch, Jason Early and a lot of those people that helped me, along with James Jackson and Ebony Alexander. I wouldn't be here without them. They opened the doors to so many options. And then even afterwards, something I tried to tell the interns there in my presentation last week was constantly use your network, especially with these people you're meeting now, because I wouldn't have found this position if I didn't reach out to James and get introduced to Kelly Bartlett and other people in MDOT who I've been speaking to for all this time. So yeah, just being able to still reach out to them after my time in grad school and being away from the program and get assistance was amazing.

Jeff Cranson:

Yeah, that's great. Well, congratulations on what you're doing so far and very, very impressive, and it was really really great to see the students react to what you said. I think you were, you were very inspiring for them, so that's, that's awesome.

Donte Harris:

I appreciate that, Jeff. I try to be. I'm glad to hear that.

Jeff Cranson:

I'd like to thank you once more for tuning in to Talking Michigan Transportation. You can find show notes and more on Apple Podcasts or Buzzsprout. I also want to acknowledge the talented people who help make this a reality each week, starting with Randy Debler, who skillfully edits the audio, Jesse Ball, who proofs the content, Courtney Bates, who posts the podcast to various platforms, and Jacke Salinas, who transcribes the audio to make it accessible to all.