“Every year we are able to give out scholarships to 10 deserving students who show interest in the transportation field,” said DOTD Secretary Shawn D. Wilson, Ph.D. “This partnership has allowed us [to] help 283 students with their tuition. It is my hope that these bright individuals will use their knowledge to one day bring new, innovative ideas to our state.”
Funding for these scholarships is provided by SASHTO, which has given nearly 300 scholarships since 2003, totaling to $293,000.
Students who receive the scholarships must be in good academic standing at their respective universities, and their grade point averages are taken into consideration when their applications are reviewed. Each prospective scholarship recipient must also submit a one-page description stating how their university courses reflect their interest in transportation. Those students who have participated in DOTD’s summer engineering and co-op programs receive extra credit.
The students who received scholarships are the following:
- Louisiana Tech University – James Cowart and Zachary Hill
- Louisiana State University – Andrew Cashman, Marcus Cepeda, Hiruni Fernando, and Ryan Lam
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette – Bailey Bergeron, Miles Loker, and Ty Westerman
- McNeese State University – Madison Fontenot
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“I’m grateful for the support that SASHTO provides our students, especially in honoring outstanding students like James and Zachary,” said Dr. Hisham Hegab, Louisiana Tech Dean of the College of Engineering and Science. “These students exemplify the focus and dedication to excellence found throughout Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science. I’m proud of the work that our faculty puts into our Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering Technology programs that prepare students to answer the challenges that arise in fields throughout the transportation sector and serve as leaders in developing solutions.”
“The LTRC Foundation SASHTO Scholarship awards are awarded every year to undergraduate students in civil engineering from the colleges in the state of Louisiana,” said George Voyiadjis, Chair of the LSU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “They are evaluated by faculty representatives from all institutions in Louisiana that offer B.Sc. degrees in civil engineering. We are very proud of the LSU Civil Engineering student recipients, as they excelled in both their course work as well as their interest in transportation engineering.”
“The university is grateful to DOTD, the Louisiana Transportation Research Center, and the Southeastern Association of State Highway Transportation for recognizing these exemplary students and nurturing their professional ambitions,” said Dr. Ahmed Khattab, Dean of UL Lafayette’s College of Engineering. “We’re also grateful to Bailey, Miles, and Ty, whose academic achievements epitomize the strength of the college’s civil engineering program, and the standard of excellence we set to prepare our students to become leaders in their fields.”
“Madison Fontenot is an outstanding example of our talented and dedicated engineering students,” said Dr. Tim Hall, Dean of the McNeese College of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics. “We appreciate the DOTD, the Louisiana Transportation Research Center, and the Southeastern Association of State Highway Transportation Officials for selecting Madison and recognizing her exceptional academic achievements. Providing scholarships to talented students with an interest in the transportation field encourages them to pursue their career goal and to become leaders in the transportation industry. McNeese has an exceptionally strong engineering program, and we are proud of the many graduates that are working for the DOTD.”
Louisiana participates in the scholarship program as a member state of SASHTO. In addition to Louisiana, SASHTO is comprised of the departments of transportation from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. The association was organized to encourage a balanced transportation system across the southern United States.
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