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Mary Sizemore, transportation engineering co-op, and raSmith receive scholarship and employer award
Mary Sizemore, a co-op in raSmith’s transportation division, recently received a scholarship from the Women’s Transportation Seminar (WTS), Wisconsin Chapter. Additionally, raSmith received the organization’s Employer of the Year Award.
Scholarship for Education
Mary Sizemore
Sizemore received the Sharon D. Banks Memorial scholarship, which is given to encourage women to pursue studies or a career in transportation engineering. As CEO of AC Transit in Alameda-Contra Costa County, California, in the 1990s, Banks led the organization “in a pioneering effort to introduce cultural and organizational changes aimed at motivating the public-transit workforce.”
“Receiving the award alongside raSmith’s honor of Employer of the Year was really special,” Sizemore said. “I’m very thankful to be doing what I love at this age at a company that is so supportive of my career. The training I have received at raSmith is far beyond anything I would learn in school. Knowledge is empowerment, and I have always felt empowered here at raSmith. I know I am well on the path towards my career thanks to this co-op experience.”
Sizemore is an undergraduate student at Marquette University in Milwaukee. After graduation, she may start working in the field or attend graduate school. No matter her path, Sizemore said her ultimate goal is to work with mass transportation in the Midwest.
“Personal vehicles dominate and contribute to a majority of pollution in a city. The Midwest needs an innovative system tailored to its needs; conventional designs won’t be effective. My dream is to find a solution that shifts the culture of transportation in this part of the country,” she said.
In 2017, Sizemore received the Harvey Shebesta Award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Wisconsin Section, for her educational pursuits in transportation engineering.
Award and scholarship winners, including Sizemore (center) and Rick Smith, CEO of raSmith.
Employer of the Year
raSmith is honored to be this year’s recipient of the WTS Employer of the Year Award. The firm supports the hiring and advancement of women and provides a variety of opportunities for women to work on challenging, rewarding transportation projects as project managers, project engineers, technicians and co-ops. Fifty percent of our transportation division co-ops have been women.
raSmith supports WTS and its staff membership and participation in WTS, among other professional organizations. Several of the firm’s engineers have served as WTS board members, including as a past president. Scholarships from WTS support opportunities for the next generation of transportation professionals and raSmith is proud to help build and support transportation in Wisconsin.