Student Interns Work on Road Projects Funded by the Transportation Sales Tax

Charleston County News Release

MEDIA CONTACT

Name:   Jennie Davis, Charleston County Public Information Officer

Phone:  843.958.4012

Email:   jdavis@charlestoncounty.org

Release Number:  3027

Date:  June 26, 2009 

Student Interns Work on Road Projects Funded by the Transportation Sales Tax
     Five interns now employed by Charleston County RoadWise Program.

Five students have begun working under the Charleston County RoadWise Internship Program to gain experience working on road projects funded by the Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax. 

The internship program is designed to provide summer job opportunities for college juniors and seniors so they can explore their majors in a variety of occupations used during road projects. Students who meet the eligibility criteria have demonstrated an interest in pursuing careers in construction, engineering and transportation-related jobs. 

"Internships are embraced by local government as a way to support projects and provide exposure to occupational areas, which may or may not lead to long-term employment, but will expand career awareness and opportunities," said Charleston County Office of Organizational Development Director, Evelyn DeLaine-Hart, who oversees the RoadWise Internship Program.  

The students will be working throughout the remainder of the summer with different engineering firms that are contracted to work on Transportation Sales Tax road projects.

The 2009 RoadWise student internship assignments are as follows:

• Brian Coleman, a student at South Carolina State University majoring in electrical engineering, is working with Atlantic South Consulting Services.
• Andrew Hewitt, a student at Clemson University majoring in construction science management, is working with Banks Construction.
• Thomas Mastillone, a student at The Citadel majoring in civil engineering, is working with STV/Ralph Whitehead Associates.
• B. L. Mims, a student at The Citadel majoring in civil and environmental engineering, is working with The LPA Group.
• John Lucas Semsar, a student at Clemson University majoring in construction science management, is working with TranSystems Corporation.

"The firms offering the internship positions had to designate a point of contact that will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all Charleston County Government procedures," DeLaine-Hart said. "The point of contact will interact with County staff for the purpose of program implementation, coordination and reporting." 

All of the students went through an orientation last month to address what they would be doing and to ensure they understood the expectations of the program. 

The job opportunities were determined by firms working on RoadWise projects and are for a pre-determined period of time. The pay rate is based on the skills and technical capabilities required by the job. 

According to DeLaine-Hart, there was a competitive selection process to choose the students. Selection was made jointly by Charleston County and the hiring firm. 

Visit the official Web site at www.ccroadwise.org for public meeting notices and up-to-date news and information about all Charleston County Transportation Sales Tax projects. 

Recruitment and eligibility requirements:

• Recruitment and selection of interns are the responsibility of the contractor.
• The Office of Organizational Development also conducts annual recruitment to aid in this process.
• Students must be a college junior or senior, have a GPA of 3.0 or better and majoring in or pursing a career in a transportation occupation. Exceptions to the GPA requirement are made on a case-by-case basis by the design or engineering firm. 

Charleston County RoadWise is the name of the Charleston County Government's management program for the construction of roads, highways, resurfacing, paving and drainage projects that are funded by the Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax. 

Visit the official Charleston County Transportation Half-Cent Sales Tax Web site www.ccroadwise.com for more information on these projects, public meeting notices and up-to-date news and information.