Alvin Marquess attended the Operations Academy Senior Leadership Program at the University of Maryland when he was Director of Operations for the Maryland State Highway Administration. He thought his experience at the OA was so important, he made sure his staff all attended as well. Attending small-group sessions, meeting peers from other agencies around the country, and sharing ideas helped deepen his knowledge of how multi-modal transportation worked.
“The best part was the camaraderie that we had in our group. There was always someone to talk to, and that’s never gone away,” he said.
Before his own enrollment in the programs, the Operations Academy placed the Operations Center where he worked on their agenda of places students would visit. Operations Academy students would ride along with safety service patrols, which he could see was enlightening to them. Working accident scenes and assisting disabled vehicles was very helpful to people who worked in offices and did not get out on the road.
“Operations Academy students would visit our agency, then offer us critiques, and we really took those to heart,” he said. “When they toured our operations center, they suggested we have monitors out in our lobby to display traffic incidents. We implemented that and we have it now.”
Then, he got the opportunity to participate in the Operations Academy himself, instead of just meeting students who were coming to the operations center where he worked.
His class project was a standout memory—everyone was given a problem to solve. The goal of their project was to find innovative commuting solutions to relieve traffic congestion. The broad spectrum of the study required them to address freight movement, truck parking studies, as well as the broader consequences of closing a roadway for an extended period.
Today, as Senior Operations and ITS Specialist at Jacobs Engineering in Maryland, he keeps referencing what he learned in the Operations Academy that he uses daily. He gained a broader perspective.
“There’s a lot that people don’t realize that you learn in the Operations Academy,” he said. “Factories keep warehouses, and on-time deliveries are critical to them. There are big problems when things can’t get delivered on time, and it’s the same with the ports. If things don’t make it to the ship in time, the ship will go no matter what. Everything has to work together. And the best part is, you learn all of this in the OA.”
Alvin returns almost every year for Operations Academy Alumni Night because although the experience he acquired is critical, the relationships he formed while he participated are what he continues to rely on.
“I’ve done some sessions for the Operations Academy as an alumnus, and I always stress how much people are going to learn,” he said. “The relationships are everything. You will always have someone somewhere who has already looked at the problem you’re facing, and they’ll help you. The lasting relationships have been the best tool for sharing information and it’s been incredibly helpful to me.”
