The Sacramento County Department of Transportation (SacDOT) is always looking to talk with the community about improving how travelers move around the County, and they certainly look for opportunities to speak with students about transportation.
During this 2023/24 school year, SacDOT staff visited various schools and met with a few hundred students about the different opportunities and jobs performed by SacDOT. Whether it was planning future roads, designing upcoming projects, or maintaining the current roads, trees and sidewalks, students were given a real glimpse of the different jobs performed by SacDOT by those who do these jobs daily.
These presentations were delivered to middle school to college-age students, and were designed to keep young minds engaged and show them how what they learn in the classroom is used on real projects.
Mikki McDaniel, a principal planner who oversees our Alternative Modes division, spoke with students at Sutter Middle School in Folsom about the growing need for future designs to include those who bike, walk or use public transportation.
SacDOT also sat down with students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to speak with the Institute of Transportation Engineers student chapter. Principal Civil Engineer Cameron Shew returned to his alma mater to educate students on the County’s efforts to transition from analyzing level of service to vehicle miles traveled (VMT), as required by Senate Bill 743.
True to the university’s “learn by doing” philosophy, students grouped up to calculate VMT for real projects and mitigation measures, following the lecture.
“It was truly refreshing to have so much hands-on work to help grapple the content," said Sam Gregory, the student chapter’s professional coordinator. "At the officer meeting, everyone mentioned how much they liked the presentation!”
First-year students in Sacramento State’s Department of Engineering are introduced to the world of Civil Engineering by SacDOT’s Spencer Ord. Ord, a Senior Civil Engineer, drops by his alma mater each semester to give a presentation during a Civil Engineering Seminar. This last semester, he spoke about how SacDOT was working with the Sacramento International Airport on improvement along Elkhorn Boulevard leading to the airport.
“I strive to express my passion and knowledge to the students in an attempt to inspire the next generation of civil engineers,” Ord said.
SacDOT doors are also open for students to view our facilities up close. They show how projects are created from planning, to design and construction and later, how they're maintained. Students can also see how we keep the traffic moving throughout the unincorporated areas.
Lupe Rodriguez, SacDOT’s Operations and Maintenance Division Chief hosted students in the California State University Sacramento Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement Program. Rodriquez gave them a tour of the Traffic Operations Center. Inside, students saw how engineers monitor traffic flow through real-time cameras to analyze ways to improve the daily commute. They also learned about how street signals are created and programmed.
SacDOT is proud of our relationships with middle and high school classrooms countywide, as well as several of California’s public universities. Speaking engagements, student projects and career fairs are not only a way to give back and invest in the next generation of engineers and planners but build relationships that often translate into intern and entry-level hires for the Department.
SacDOT is leading the way to greater mobility. You can email them at
VisitSacDOT@saccounty.gov, if you would like to have a member of SacDOT visit your school or would like to schedule a field trip to visit them.
