Illinois Tollway staff encourage high school students to pursue careers in transportation industry
2023-03-23
Senior Project Manager Rick Hanba loves seeing his work as a civil engineer transform from concept to reality.
Community Relations Manager Lauren Platt enjoys using her skills to solve a variety of issues in collaboration with others.
Their advice for students at Grant Community High School in Fox Lake? A career at the Illinois Tollway offers many exciting possibilities.
Grant Community High School in Fox Lake invited the Tollway to come talk to students at its annual career fair in March. The fair offered an estimated gathering of approximately 1,000 students the chance to hear from more than 60 representatives of local businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and labor unions to participate in the annual event.
The experiences shared by Hanba and Platt illustrate for students the types of careers available in the transportation industry.
“I like driving by knowing I had a hand in building these projects,” says Hanba, who works on numerous road, bridge and maintenance facility projects for the Tollway.
Engineering, he says, is a great career for people who enjoy challenges, finding solutions and working with others to implement those solutions. His career path has taken him from inspecting roadway projects to now being responsible for managing those projects.
“No two days are the same, which challenges all of us to solve problems differently,” says Platt, who serves as the Tollway liaison with local and state government officials. “We are empowered to think creatively and collaborate both internally and externally with our peers. I enjoy learning from my peers who make me better at my job every day.”
Platt encourages students to explore all the different career options available based on their interests – something she wishes she knew when she was in high school. She highly recommends students consider engineering or planning based on her positive experiences working at the Illinois Tollway.