North Carolina A&T State University News July 27, 2017 Transportation Institute at N.C. A&T to Commemorate 25 Years of National Model Program The College of Business and Economics(COBE)<http://www.ncat.edu/cobe/index.html> at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will celebrate 25 years hosting its Summer Transportation Institute on Friday, Aug. 4, at noon, in the Alumni-Foundation Event Center. The event will acknowledge and feature former and current participants in the program, as well as commemorate COBE and N.C. A&T's place in history as the first university nationally to offer the program to students. Virginia Tsu, director of the National Summer Transportation program, from the Federal Highway Administration will deliver the keynote address. The long-running program was highlighted in 2002 by the federal government for its inaugural and model program. Subsequently, funding also became available through federal subsidy. The annual 5-week Transportation Institute provides rising junior and senior high school students an up-close, inside perspective of the various types of careers open to them as potential transportation and supply chain majors. "We try to expose students to career opportunities and academic options in the field of transportation, said Deborah Underwood, program manager of the Transportation Institute and director of the Summer Transportation Institute. "Most kids, if asked about Transportation, always come up with bus or truck driver. They don't know the vast areas of transportation they can be employed in. We steer them toward professional careers in transportation." >From strategic sourcing specialists, logistics, city planning and more, the institute teaches students about numerous career paths and the companies that could potentially hire them like Bank of America or even the CIA. Every major firm or company has a transportation department, says Underwood. In the past, companies such as Dow Chemical and Caterpillar have been spotlighted and lauded as sources of funding for the program. A maximum of 20 students are accepted into the institute annually. Each student must have at least a 2.5 GPA, submit an essay, an application and two letters of recommendation to be eligible for the program. The rewards are extremely beneficial for selected participants, says Underwood. In addition to the transportation knowledge and experience the students gain, they are also enrolled in a freshman English course that can be applied to their college transcripts at A&T or at another university. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta, GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org/ sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org%3cmailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org>> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/