Graduate Spotlight: Love of ‘building things’ inspires pursuit of engineering degree
Kim Chaudoin |
From the time she was young, Amanda Higginbotham (’23) has been intrigued by how things work.
Her passion for building things coupled with her ever-present curiosity for discovering the inner workings of those things led her to pursue a mechanical engineering degree and a career, well, building things.
The LaBelle, Florida, native chose Lipscomb University as the first step in achieving her goal of earning that degree.
“I chose Lipscomb because of the welcoming atmosphere I felt when I came to tour the campus,” recalls Higginbotham. “I felt very at home here and felt the professors truly wanted to push students to do their best work while helping them succeed.”
Higginbothom began her Lipscomb journey as a freshman in fall 2019. In addition to her studies, she quickly got involved in many of the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering student groups. This past year she served as the president of the Engineering Honors Society, now the Tennessee Eta Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, which she helped found, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapter and as a member of the officer team of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) chapter. Higginbothom also worked as a lab assistant in the college training other students on equipment such as 3D printers and laser cutters and was on the leadership team for the Baja SAE competition team.
She has also used her engineering skills to help others. She served on the planning team for an engineering mission project in Honduras during which a team installed solar panels on a school. In addition, the spring Higginbotham co-lead a service day at Nashville’s Green Street Church of Christ to build a tent platform for temporary housing units for the homeless community located there.
“My Lipscomb experience has been one full of growth, joy, and wonderful memories. I have met some of my best friends at Lipscomb and am so thankful for my time here,” says Higginbotham, who was a member of Delta Omega social club.
“The engineering faculty are truly are wonderful people,” she continues. “My professors have challenged me but have also encouraged me every step of the way. Their doors are always open and they are always willing to help. I think that is so unique and it is something you do not find everywhere.”
In August, Higginbotham will begin a job as engineer-in-training at Smith Seckman Reid, a consulting engineering company headquartered in Nashville. Her work will be in mechanical design primarily in designing HVAC systems.