Get to Know Leiana Yates, one of Carpenter Marty Transportation’s Traffic Engineers!

Leiana Yates has great technical skill and an eye for aesthetics, which may have been one of a few reasons she chose Carpenter Marty Transportation one year ago. When she interviewed for a position with our traffic engineering group, she was still looking at other job opportunities. Sure, we had her favorite color (red) adorning our walls, vehicles, email signatures, and reports, and she liked the aesthetics of our website, but it was the interview team that ultimately won her over.

Gina Balsamo and Neal Underwood, leaders of our traffic engineering group, were friendly and in tune with what Leiana was going through. They reassured her that training comes with the job and that they were interested in hiring a person who would work well with the rest of the team. They were even flexible with the timeline to accept the position.  Leiana knew she wanted to work somewhere where she would know everyone on her team and feel like she was a valued contributor to the team’s success, so she signed the offer!

Leiana Yates joined our team as a part-time intern a few months before her full-time position began. She said it gave her a chance to get to know many of us, get in the rhythm of working in a professional office, and learn many of the skills needed to do her job. It was a smooth, seamless transition for her and us! Gina Balsamo said, “Leiana immediately fit into our group and caught on to our methods quickly. Her willingness to start working with us part time leading up to her graduation showed how willing she was to put in the extra effort from the start.”

After Leiana graduated from The Ohio State University with her civil engineering degree, she already felt up-to-speed with the primary responsibilities and tasks for her role. She felt like she had learned more practical, engineering information in the two months of part-time employment at Carpenter Marty Transportation than she did during college. Over the last year, Leiana has become adept with data collection and analysis for both public and private traffic studies. Though she is a key contributor for traffic studies, she is also willing to help the traffic design team when needed. Neal added that “Leiana has been a great addition to the traffic group!”

Leiana loves the “private development studies that she can complete in a week. She also likes the opportunity to get out in the field on warm, sunny days. One of her favorite trips was a fall drive to Southern Ohio when the leaves were at their peak and the rolling hills were to her left and right.

In her free time, Leiana draws. She likes to draw people and cartoons to relax and give her hands something to do. Her favorite part is shading and textures (like hair). Leiana said she would often doodle on the side of her notebooks when she was in middle school. It was not until she was about thirteen years old that she started intentionally drawing as a hobby.

After recognizing her talent, we commissioned her to create artwork for our 2021 Ohio Transportation Engineering Conference t-shirt. It was printed on a tie-dye shirt to complement our theme and her design. The shirt is proudly displayed in our conference room, in a hall of fame style.

If you walk by Leiana’s desk at lunch, you may see her with a stylus in hand and a tablet on her lap. It may be the only time you get a glimpse of her drawings. She occasionally shares one with her closest friends or family, but she usually does not save them. Modestly, she agreed to share only the pencil drawing she completed minutes before our meeting to discuss her first year at Carpenter Marty Transportation.

Leiana said if you can work part-time or intern with a company before being hired, absolutely do it! "It helps to slowly integrate into a professional work environment and get a glimpse of a company’s culture. An internship also gives you the chance to learn a company’s operations, core values, and people. It can be a great opportunity if you are considering a full-time position at the same company where you interned."

For fellow Buckeyes: Get to know your senior capstone consultants. Leiana said, “They can help you! And, you never know, one day they may become your colleague. I now work with one of the people that helped me with my senior capstone project.”