2020 WDCSITE Howard University Student Workshop and Technical Meeting Recap

On Monday, February 24th, WDCSITE held their inaugural meeting at Howard University, the Section’s newest student chapter. ITE profressionals met with Howard students and faculty for a resume and interview workshop that was followed by two technical presentations.

The timing of the meeting was perfect, as students were already preparing for the University’s civil engineering career fair that was to be held on Wednesday, February 26th. The event began with ITE professionals engaging in one-on-one sessions with students to review resumes, conduct mock interviews, and offer any additional advice for the upcoming career fair.

Following the resume/mock interview workshop and a 15-minute networking break, the event continued with two technical presentations. The first speaker was Benito Pérez, AICP, CTP, CPM, who is the Curbside Management & Operations Planning Manager with DDOT. Mr. Pérez’s presentation included a discussion about the history of curbside management in DC and the strategies used by DDOT to mitigate the challenges they face. He emphasized the important of stakeholder engagement when it comes to curbside management. Mr. Pérez also welcomed Emilda Gwerengwe, a DDOT intern and Howard University undergraduate, to help present on the Pick-Up/Drop-Off Pilot program.

The second speaker was Burak Cesme, PhD, who in addition to being WDCSITE’s vice president is a traffic engineer for Kittelson & Associates. Dr. Cesme spoke about a study (NCHRP 03-133: Traffic Signal Design and Operations Strategies for Non-Motorized Users) conducted by Kittelson that offers guidance to agencies for improving mobility of non-motorized users at signalized intersections. Several treatment strategies were examined in close detail.

WDCSITE thanks Howard University for hosting this successful event – hopefully the first of many to come!