Civil and environmental engineering senior wins APWA scholarship

Jackson Curtis, a senior in civil and environmental engineering, recently received an annual scholarship from the Alabama Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA), which awards up to three scholarships per year to deserving students in Alabama striving to complete educational requirements for a career path in public works. 

“I am humbled and honored,” Curtis said. “The American Public Works Association’s generosity has been extremely beneficial to me, and I hope the Alabama APWA members are aware of the impact they have made and my gratitude to them.”

Curtis is a member of Chi Epsilon, a member of the Auburn student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers and has worked as a co-op student at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) pavement test track.

“Auburn Engineering has prepared me in many ways to be qualified to receive this scholarship,” Curtis said. “The most obvious example of this is the career choice direction that the College of Engineering has given me. Even before I was a student at Auburn, I remember attending E-Day in 2018 and being introduced to civil engineering in an interesting and inviting way. After my first semester of school, the college highly encouraged students to co-op. So, I did and ended up at NCAT. This work in research at NCAT introduced me to the arena of public works, and I believe that is what qualified me for the APWA scholarship.”

Curtis also noteed the scholarship’s emphasis on the importance of public works.

“The APWA defines public works as ‘the combination of physical assets, management practices, policies, and personnel necessary for government to provide and sustain structures and services essential to the welfare and acceptable quality of life for its citizens,’” he said. “As a civil engineer, I am extremely likely to encounter projects relating to public works, and the Alabama Chapter of the American Public Works Association has done an outstanding job of promoting integrity and quality in public works.”