John Contestabile

Homeland Security/transportation professional with an engineering/tech bent....

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

MIT Transit Lab to develop AI hub for public transportation agencies https://t.co/JOniaoZiZZ

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

N.C. county opens $6M emergency services center

Washington County, N.C., has opened a $6 million center that brings together the EOC, 9-1-1, an EMS station and training space to help agencies coordinate during emergencies
Full Story: WCTI-TV (New Bern, N.C.) (10/5)
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[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

Report: Delayed Evacuations, Command Failures Hampered Los Angeles Fire Response https://t.co/wfwHFoX6LS

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

MTA deploys panoramic cameras, drones across LIRR system https://t.co/rAsYzS6Zd5

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

Projects nationwide receive $426M in highway funding - https://t.co/SFJjyKM0br

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

HRBT expansion enters final phase https://t.co/95voDPc31f

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

https://t.co/b8iT22EMxh

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

Driverless Waymo cruises through Denver farmers market https://t.co/Y0FkkiebVV via @denverpost

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

FAA warned of engine issue days before KNBC helicopter crash https://t.co/GznnGWXTUM via @thedeskdotnet

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

A couple years ago, Mikala Sposito applied for a work ethic scholarship from my foundation. She asked for $2,700.00 to help realize her dream of becoming a welder. (Actually, her first dream was to become an Olympian. As a kid, she excelled at horseback riding, dance, soccer, and track, but not quite at the Olympic level. So, Mikala adjusted her dream and focused on something within her reach. Precisely the kind of commonsense approach to making a living we try to encourage.) Toward that end, Mikala filled out the application, jumped through all the necessary hoops, and signed the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, as all applicants must.

According to our internal ranking system, which is inherently subjective and relative to each batch of new applicants, Mikala scored a 94, and was awarded $2,100.00, or roughly 80% of what she asked for. This is typical of the average percentage awarded to an excellent applicant. As a rule, we almost never award the entire amount requested. We want our recipients to have some skin in the game, and we encourage all applicants to apply for additional scholarship funds elsewhere, which Mikala did. But in this case, if I had it to do over again, I think I’d have awarded Mikala the full $2,700.00. Why? Because this woman is precisely why I award work ethic scholarships in the first place, as recent headlines prove. Headlines all over the country that identify Mikala Sposito as the sole welder to represent Team USA in the upcoming @WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai.

This is a very big deal. The World Skills competition is often referred to as the Olympics of the skilled trades, so it looks like Mikala’s dream is coming true after all. And it seems to me her journey is worth a brief encapsulation. Before she applied for a scholarship from mikeroweWORKS, Mikala demonstrated an affinity for welding in SkillsUSA. As a senior at Dexter High School, she won 1st Place at the SkillsUSA Michigan high school competition and went on to place 14th nationally. Then, as a freshman at Washtenaw Community College, she repeated her success by taking 1st Place in the Michigan college division. She then advanced to nationals, where she finished 8th in the country. That earned her an invitation to the Team USA pre-trials, which whittled the nation's top 16 young welders down to three. At the final USA Weld Trials at the Robotics Technology Park in Huntsville, Alabama, each competitor was evaluated on precision, safety, technical execution, craftsmanship, and multi-process capabilities under extreme time constraints. Mikala Sposito took the Gold, officially becoming the first woman to represent the United States in welding at WorldSkills. Next week, she’ll face off against the absolute best of the best from all over the world.

I should point out that Mikala would prefer it if the press didn’t make a big deal of her gender, and I completely understand. (She’s a welder – not a “weld-her.”) But today, the industry is in desperate need of proof that women can and do excel in the trades. Nationally, just 4.3% of tradespeople are female. At mikeroweWORKS, our female applicants are closer to 20%, but I assure you that percentage could be much higher. Companies are anxious to recruit talented welders of any gender, and women need to understand and believe the opportunities are real. Mikala prove that in spades, and I want to offer her my sincere congratulations, and invite all of you to do the same. Because Mikala Sposito is exactly what our country needs a lot more of. People who understand that talent is never enough to compensate for laziness.

In her application, she wrote, “Hard work beats talent any day of the week, and nobody is going to outwork me. Period.”

She also connected with every point of the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge but said the final tenet resonated with her the most. “Some people choose to be lazy. Some people choose to sleep in. I choose to work my butt off.”
My favorite quote, however, is Mikala’s response to seasoned professionals who see her wield a torch and call her a “natural.”

“I’m not a natural,” she says. Far from it. And none of this came easy. I worked and trained 60-80 hours a week for two years to get here.”

Regardless of what happens in Shanghai, the job offers are already piling up, including the most recent from SpaceX. She hasn’t graduated yet, but the future looks bright, and I for one would not bet against her.

PS. I never do this, but since my name is in the title of the foundation, I suppose I can. Mikala – please accept the additional $600 you requested from mikeroweWORKS two years ago. Shanghai is expensive, and since you’re representing all of us, we’d like to provide you with a little walking around money. The check is in the mail.

Now…go get the gold!

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

E-Bikes, E-Scooters Reshape Major Cities’ Mobility Landscape https://t.co/k7VD52MpFr

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

Sinclair, Nexstar Launch Campaign to Raise Awareness of NextGen TV https://t.co/69ytwn4ckJ

[9/11 Revisited @911Revisionist]

The 9/11 Memorial "Tear Drop" sit's directly across from NYC, in Bayonne New Jersey, just the other side of the Statue of Liberty, yet we hear nothing about it.

This beautiful, 100 ft tall monument was gifted to the people of the United States by the people of Russia in 2006, in memory of all those who lost their lives on that fateful day, September 11, 2001.

The breaking in the cracked façade forms the shape of the two towers.
The giant suspended tear drop signifies the tears of the entire world that day.

Maybe it's something that needs to be known, starting today.

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

9/11 Programming Guide: Everything Airing and Streaming for the 25th Anniversary https://t.co/IkVNfQZgzA via @thr

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

NOCoE at the ACT 40th Annual International Conference https://t.co/IwISIsdTcu via @YouTube

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

Study: ‘IP Networking & Content Delivery’ Is 2026's Top Broadcast Tech Trend https://t.co/LfUF7BpPEU

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

Dozens of Minnesota Water Utilities Targeted in Coordinated OT Attacks - https://t.co/HLKkhIAOsA

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

Nexar and Nauto to Merge, Creating the Independent Infrastructure Platform for Physical AI https://t.co/wNah5PGAWp

[John Contestabile @jcontestabile]

Metro fires six after derailment probe finds that inspectors falsified records https://t.co/yE4GdPsPfq