Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 3-9-18

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Middleton Students Participate In ‘Shadow Day’
Middleton High School students are shown with guest speakers during the “Garrett A. Morgan Shadow Day.”
Several students from Middleton High School par- ticipated in the “Garrett A. Morgan Shadow Day” on February 22, 2018. The event was organized by the Central Florida Chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) and hosted by the Center for Urban Trans- portation Research (CUTR) at University of South Florida (USF).
Among the many inven- tions patented by Black Americans includes the ubiq- uitous traffic signal that car
drivers encounter during our daily trips, which was in- vented by Garrett A. Mor- gan, a Black inventor in Cleveland, Ohio in 1914.
Students learned about careers in transportation and opportunities to be involved in transportation activities in the Tampa Bay area.
Featured speakers during the day included Dr. Robert Bertini, CUTR Di- rector, former State Sena- tor James T. Hargrett, Jr., David Gwynn, Secre- tary, District 7, Florida De- partment of Transportation
(FDOT), Dr. Jose Zayas- Castro, Associate Dean of College of Engineering, USF, Eva Fernandez, Assistant Director, College of Engi- neering, USF and Kenyatta Lee, Chief Administrative Officer, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART).
Students had one-on-one discussions with other fac- ulty and students at CUTR and USF on careers in trans- portation, were given a tour of an engineering lab, had a discussion with students that build a race car and had a chance to ride a motorcycle
simulator that is used in safety research. The day ended with a game of Trans- portation Jeopardy.
The “Garrett A. Mor- gan Shadow Day Pro- gram” was developed under former President Bill Clinton’s Administration by Rodney E. Slater, former Secretary to the U. S. Depart- ment of Transportation.
The program is designed to educate students in grades K-12 about career opportuni- ties in transportation. Gar- rett A. Morgan Shadow Days take place on any day
during the month of Febru- ary, in observance of Black History Month.
In addition to the cre- ation of the traffic signal light, Garrett Morgan patented a breathing device in the form of a canvas hood, a precursor to the modern gas mask.
Past Shadow Day Pro- grams have been at the Tampa International Air- port, Florida Polytechnic University and Walt Disney World.
Founded in 1971, COMTO was created to provide a forum for minority profes- sionals in the transportation industry. Its mission is to en- sure opportunities and max- imum participation in the transportation industry for minority individuals, busi- nesses, and communities of color, through advocacy, in- formation sharing, training, education, and professional development.
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