Projo Politics Blog

By CYNTHIA NEEDHAM
Journal State House Bureau

A week ago, most Americans had never heard of Wellington Hall.

Now the Providence engineer's picture is on newsstands across the country.
Hall, 25, is featured in Fortune magazine's latest issue, one of 7 "Stimulus Hires" profiled after they were put to work with money from the Obama administration's economy recovery package.

On the magazine's glossy pages, he tells of being hired as an engineering intern at the state Department of Transportation while working on his master's degree at the University of Rhode Island. His hopes for a permanent job were damped by the souring economy and the hundreds of resumés from seasoned workers that flowed into the DOT. But when the stimulus money arrived, the agency put him to work as a full-time engineer, doing field work and customer service, all while he finished his master's thesis on traffic roundabouts.

And just when he thought life was going really well a few weeks back, Fortune came calling. Seeing his face in a national magazine is strange, Hall admits. His colleagues can't get enough of kidding him about his minor moment of fame -- "Here comes Hollywood" is a new favorite catcall.

But having a solid job in tough times makes it all worth it.

 Tags  Department of Transportation engineer Fortune magazine Wellington Hall

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