MPC
University of Wyoming's Higgins Named Student of the Year

Posted: Jan 25, 2022

John Higgins, a master of science student in civil engineering at the University of Wyoming, has been named 2021 Student of the Year for the Mountain-Plains Consortium. He was honored with other award winners from across the country during a virtual awards ceremony Saturday, January 8.

As a graduate research assistant in the department, Higgins is involved in research to produce high-performance concrete mix designs for use in bridge decks. During the summer of 2021 he served as a bridge inspection intern for the New York State Department of Transportation. In 2020 he was an engineering intern with Brierley Associates in Laramie, WY, working on abandoned mine remediation.

Higgins earned his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Wyoming in 2020 and earned associate degrees in mathematics and engineering from Northwest College in Powell, WY, in 2017. At Northwest College he was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society.

He is a currently a member of the University of Wyoming American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) Student Chapter and a member of the Wyoming Engineering Society, which named him the 2020 Civil Engineering Student of the Year. Higgins also served as construction manager for the University of Wyoming Concrete Canoe team. He is a member of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society.

Higgins is originally from Deaver, WY, and gained his first experience in engineering while working for three summers in Yellowstone National Park as part of a surveying crew.