Three N.C. A&T Seniors Named to Transportation Fellowship Program

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 17, 2020) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University students Tyler Huggins, Joseph Smith and Kiana Williams have been named to the prestigious Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program (DDETFP).

The fellowships – $6,500 for Huggins, $8,000 for Smith and $10,000 for Williams – were procured under the recommendation of N.C. A&T Transportation Institute Director Maranda McBride, Ph.D., and program manager Teresa McRae.

The funds cover 2019-20 academic school year tuition assistance, a stipend and expenses associated with attending the 99th Transportation Research Board (TRB) annual meeting in Washington, D.C., which took place earlier this month.

“At TRB, they had the opportunity to network with other fellows and professionals and learn about current innovations in the transportation industry,” McRae said. “I am proud of our students for being selected to receive this national fellowship.”

Huggins, from Columbia, South Carolina, will graduate in May with a B.S. in civil engineering. She has been an active executive board member for the Institute of Transportation Engineers for the past four years. During her collegiate career, she had three internships in the transportation field – two summers with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and a summer with NV5, formerly known as CALYX.

Smith, from High Point, North Carolina, will graduate in May 2020 with a B.S. in supply chain management. He credits his experience as a Summer High School Transportation Institute participant in 2014 with influencing his educational focus. Having had an internship with Volvo Trucks, he plans to pursue a career in supply chain management with the U.S. Air Force.

Williams, from Columbus, Ohio, will graduate in December 2020 with a B.S. in supply chain management. She interned with L Brands Inc., Zoetis LLC and Chick- fil-A Inc. and completed a five-month co-op with Georgia Pacific.

The DDETFP has awarded more than $50 million to outstanding individuals in the transportation industry, from its initial support of graduate research fellowships in 1983 to the current program's inception in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.

From this investment, fellows have pushed for innovative change in multimodal areas from highway infrastructure to aviation to maritime, making the industry more effective and efficient. Fellows go on to pursue careers in academia, private industry and public service while becoming leaders across the nation.

The DDETFP competition provides funding for students to pursue associate, bachelor, master and doctoral degrees in transportation related fields. The awards are given on the basis of merit, including academic records, class standing, GPA, transcripts, transportation work experience and recommendations.

Students were required to submit an abstract for a research project that was conducted during the fall 2019 semester with their grant application. After completion, they had to participate in an interview about their research with a panel of transportation professionals.

The goal of the DDETFP is to advance the transportation workforce by helping to attract the nation’s brightest minds to the transportation-related fields of study. It also encourages existing transportation professionals to seek advanced degrees with the goal of retaining top talent in the U.S. transportation industry.