STUDENT QUOTES – October 2016 SESSION
“Knowing the right tools and people / departments that you can to assign to a project can make the difference of a successful vs. unsuccessful outcome. The TSMO Tools are a fail safe approach that should be utilized from the beginning of the project approach.” Laurie Carlson
“The Operations Academy is a great opportunity to hear from experts and learn about TSM&O strategies to reduce congestion make the MOST out of our transportation system.” Maria Connolly
“Thank you, Operations Academy, for introducing me to practitioners in the field who will inform the work that I do every day.” Lydia Conrad
“A wonderful immersion experience that brought together experts from around the country to share and learn best practices nationally in operations.” A. Kaplan
“TSMO is the highest amount of mobility you can buy for your $.” Sasan Delshad
“I learned a valuable breadth of information about the importance of applying TSM&O to most efficiently optimize the transportation system in my state. I will be making a focused effort to share what I’ve learned. If the program could be condensed to focus on understanding the priority TSMO learning concepts, I would highly recommend it.” W. Wolcott
“This two weeks of TSMO training moved my vision and knowledge of transportation to 21 century. A definite training for all involved in transportation and i will recommend it for sure.” M. Aslami
“The operations academy is a great builder of necessary skills in today’s operations environment. It also brings together a wide variety of professionals with differing experiences that facilitates excellent information sharing.” L. Angers
“It is obvious that a lot of effort and planning went into putting this stellar program together. I feel privilleged and honored to have been a part of this year’s cohort and a graduate of the Operations Academy!” Jose Colon
“The full emersion in this 2-week program is beyond compare. You literally live, eat and sleep TSMO.” Kevin Comstock
“The principles of managing what we operate is inherent to a good Traffic Engineer, however, we use our knowledge and experience sparingly in actual operations. TSM&O is where we are going, the course will help you focus on improving and optimizing managing what we operate.” Bruce Littleton
“My 30 second elevator speech to change the culture and direction of our agency: TSM&O is all about an efficient, reliable, and cost-efficient way, to move people and goods in a manner that improves safety. Let me show you how…” W. Agemag
“I now have a deep understanding of the many aspects of highway operations and how they interrelate. More importantly, because of the varied backgrounds of my 34 classmates, whatever comes up in the future, I will know someone who I can call and who I trust will give me an insider’s view of the topic.” G. Jordan
“Understanding the components that are captured within the TSMO process enables the individual(s) and DOT(s) a more successful outcome in achieving the goals of their project(s).” L.J. Carlson
“The networking opportunities this course affords are amazing. I was able to learn from and listen to some incredible presentations, and I took back a huge amount of useful information.” E. Kocher
“This course was a great experience. Not just was I able to interact and learn from others in the Operations field but I gain valuable tools to better operate in the field.” Oliver Rose
“The Ops Academy presented full two week program that was effective at demonstrating and relating the importance of Transportation System Management and Operations programs to an agency. The program presented a holistic view of TSM&O all the way from planning to implementing advanced technologies. The assembled class representing dozens of agencies across the country and provided an excellent networking opportunity between peers.” A. Heath
“The Operations Academy provides you with a great opportunity to learn from other public agencies. It helped me tie a lot of the TSMO concepts together and provided me with a framework that my agency can use to help take TSMO to the next level. I would highly recommend this program to other agencies that are thinking about movement forward with an operations based approach. The relationships that your form with other agency members are invaluable.” April Wire
“I learned a lot through the discussions and class presentations, but the one most valuable part of the entire experience was the network and friendships that I gained. Learning from my peers was an invaluable experience.” Rebecca Szymkowski
“yes I would recommend the program to others; I learned how the capability maturity model will help us improve systematically and keep us on track. I feel my agency is integrating TSMO and we can only improve.” Tammy Campbell
“The Academy provided a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and best practices with quality individuals from diverse agencies and functions.” Jim Schnoebelen
“The Operations Academy is a great program that provides an opportunity for people from across the country to get together and make real changes in their organization. I learned a lot from this course, but I also learned a lot from the highly qualified peers that I shared this experience with.” W. Lobuzzetta
“I would recommend this program. Today’s problems can’t wait for tomorrow’s solutions.” Luke Lorrimer
“The Academy is a great forum to learn and share cutting-edge TSMO approaches from across the country. The format allows a peer exchange that is invaluable in a very short timeframe.” S. Beck
“Future students should prepare themselves to be challenged not only mentally but physically. The program is design to engulf you entirely into TSMO, mornings and nights. This educational experience is only for those who are seriously committed to give their all to the program for 2 weeks. If you want a quick vacation, do not apply. If you want to learn, network, and gain perspective, the Operations Academy is it… I highly recommend the program.” Brian White