September OS, 2001__________ ;___________________
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P r o fi I e o f C o m m u n ity Pa r tn e r s
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Eskender Said, Vidal Gutierrez an d Latausha Slider are being mentored as the next generation o f Tri-Met employees currently working on the Interstate M A X project.
Expo
Center
INROADS YOUTH JOIN
INTERSTATE MAX TEAM
Vidal Gutierrez, Eskender Said and Latausha Slider are
among a group of high-potential, underrepresented minority
youth gearing up to spend the summer working on the
Delta Park/
Vanport
Kenton/
N Denver
ETHIOPIAN FINDS SUCCESS FAR
FROM HOME
Eskender Said didn’t want to leave his family or his
Interstate MAX light rail project. Traditionally, applicant
hometown of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, but he knew he
pools for engineering positions are far from diverse. Tri-Met
would get a better education in America. He was
sees the value of providing student training now to help
valedictorian at Jefferson High School and in his senior year
increase the talent and diversity of future applicant pools.
has maintained a 3.85 GPA studying civil engineering from
To this end, Tri-Met is taking advantage of INROADS, a
.program working to place talented minority youth in
businesses and prepare them for corporate and community
leadership positions. As part of the program, students are
paired with light rail staff that will mentor them in
INTERSTATE
Portland State University.
When asked why he chose PSU, he responded, “I had
scholarships to Stanford, OSU and the University of Oregon.
But I chose PSU so I could be close to my sister.” He was
also interested in tutoring at-risk students at Albina Youth
Opportunity School. “A couple of wrong decisions and I
specialized areas of engineering.
could have been there. I would have wanted someone
to help me,” he said of his love to help others.
F IV E Y E A R S F R O M N O W ,
T H E Y CAN P O IN T TO A M A JO R
Eskender believes his work at Tri-Met will give him
answers to questions he ponders in daily life. “I
Light rail
stations
admire bridges and structures. I wonder how they can
carry that load. Engineering helps me answer those
Existing
MAX line
L IG H T R A IL P R O JE C T A N D SAY
questions,” he said.
Freeway
‘ I W ORKED ON TH A T’ . ”
GRESHAM NATIVE APPLIES
LEARNING TO A “ REAL PROJECT”
-JEFF GOODLING
Latausha Slider grew up in Gresham without many
African-American role models. So, she sought after
and received an academic scholarship to Grambling
MEXICAN STUDENT PUTS FAMILY FIRST
For Vidal Gutierrez, life in his birth city of Michoacán,
México was not easy. Opportunities were scarce and food for
his family of eight was sometimes nonexistent. In 1993,
with no money or food, his father brought the family across
the border where they made a living picking berries.
Family responsibilities are important to Vidal, who gave
up a full-ride scholarship to a school in Oklahoma to help
support his family after his brother married. He later quit
working to go to school full time. “I want to be a role model
for my younger brothers. See, my home and my people are a
big part of who I am. I may not be able to help my parents
financially right now, but the work I do will help them later
down the road,’’ said Vidal.
University, an all-black college. It was at Grambling that
Latausha discovered her love for drawing, leading her to
pursue a degree in drafting and design technology.
latausha is an active member of the NAACP, National
Society of Black Engineers and national black sorority (Delta
Sigma Theta). O f her new employers, she said, “I like that
Tri-Met is very diverse. I noticed at the very first meeting
that people look just like me. Plus, 1 can go out in the field
and actually apply the math I learned in school to a real
project.”
MENTORING THE NEXT GENERATION
Tri-Met Design Development Manager Jeff Goodling
works hard to make sure the students are exposed to real
engineering issues. “The interns will get a real taste of civil
Vidal received a one-year scholarship for migrant workers
from Portland Community College. This fall he begins his
• 5.8 miles long
•
10 stations
• $350 million budget
• 18,100 new riders by 2020,
including 8,400 new to transit
• Service through downtown
• Final design underway
spring 2000
• Federal funding grant signed
September 2000
• Sewer relocation started
November 2000
• Trackway/street construction
starts spring 2001
• Opens September 2004
For project information call
503-962-2155
in english:
www.tri-met.org
en espahol:
www.tri-met.org/yellowline/
espanol.htm
engineering,” said Jeff. “Five years from now, they can point
to a major light rail project and say ‘I worked on that .”
second year at PCC studying electrical engineering.
H ow we g e t th e re m a t t e r s .
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TRI-MET
503-238-RIDE
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