Fast 15: MacKenzie Allison

MacKenzie Allison loved math from an early age, mostly because she was good at it. In high school, her calculus teacher suggested that she consider an engineering career.

The Rogers native looked into engineering and liked the problem-solving aspect of it. She chose civil engineering because of its focus on infrastructure. Allison graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 2020. Through connections, she learned about Garver and its civil engineering focus.

“They have a really good reputation around Northwest Arkansas, also in the state and across our footprint,” Allison said. “I poked around, took a leap of faith … applied and interviewed, and (it) worked out.”

In 2019, Allison joined Garver as an intern. After graduation, she started working full-time as an engineer on the process mechanical team. Over the years, she’s added more responsibilities, led other process mechanical engineers and oversaw project designs.

Soon, she will earn her professional engineer license and transition to a project manager. That will increase her responsibilities, including leading multiple engineering teams to complete water and wastewater projects.

As a process mechanical engineer, Allison has worked on water and wastewater projects from Mountain Home to Springdale, including work on the Northwest Arkansas Conservation Authority’s wastewater treatment plant expansion. Allison also has helped with the project to improve the Springdale Wastewater Treatment Facility.

Recently, she’s been working on projects in Colorado and Texas, including expanding a water treatment plant to accommodate a new Texas Instruments chip plant in Sherman, Texas. The expansion will more than double the plant’s treatment capacity to 55 million gallons per day and feature cutting-edge technology, such as ultra-filtration and reverse osmosis membranes.

A career highlight has been the opportunity to present project findings to officials with the city of Aspen, Colo., to help the city meet its treatment goals. Aspen officials said they appreciated her attention to detail, which she liked that they noticed.

About two years ago, she started a Toastmasters Club at Garver to help her and her co-workers improve their presentation skills. The club has 25 members. As a volunteer, she presents to UA freshmen about civil engineering.

Her hobbies include rock climbing, cycling, running and pickleball.