Corey 
Engineer in Training, Transportation and Infrastructure, Freese and Nichols, Inc. (Dallas, Texas)
Brandon Huxford’s physics degree from ACU has him traveling new roads – literally and figuratively.
As an engineer with Freese and Nichols Inc., Brandon designs projects ranging from roadways and intersections to traffic signals and culverts throughout the Southwest.
Brandon is an EIT, or engineer in training, which requires passing an eight-hour comprehensive exam and becoming certified by the state of Texas. After four years of design experience, he will be eligible to take the professional engineer licensing exam.
ACU’s road to engineering
Brandon became interested in his career while at ACU.
“I had heard that ACU had a co-op program with University of Texas at Arlington that allowed you to transfer after three years, and upon completion you would receive a bachelor’s from both schools,” he says. “That sounded good to me.”
Brandon graduated from ACU in 2007, then went on to earn a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. He soon obtained a position with Freese and Nichols, which last year was named by CE News as No. 7 in the “Top 40 Best Civil Engineering Firms to Work For.”
Prepared to excel
When Brandon decided to become a civil engineer, he briefly considered transferring to another school to finish his degree. “But when it came time for me to go, I didn’t want to – so I stayed at ACU,” he says.
The decision to stay turned out to be a good one. “In grad school, I felt as though I was leaps and bounds ahead of others in both general knowledge and my mathematics and problem-solving skills,” he says.
“My ACU physics degree prepared me far beyond what I could have imagined,” he says. “Any time there is a math or technical question, or just a question about why things work the way they do, I am the first person that people come to. And it is a good feeling to actually know the answer to such questions. ACU’s attention to detail, smaller class structure and integrated faith aspect of classes truly make a difference.”