Bridget Moore ’20 CE Named Inaugural Recipient of McMahon Associates, Inc. Student Scholarship

Joseph McMahon, Bridget Moore, Associate Professor Dr. Seri Park and Professor and Department Chair Dr. Shawn Gross

McMahon Associates, Inc., a transportation engineering and planning firm, announced that Bridget Moore, a Civil and Environmental Engineering junior focused on Transportation Engineering at Villanova University, is the inaugural recipient of the Joseph and Peggy McMahon Transportation Engineering Scholarship, as competitively selected through the Berks County Community Foundation.

To gain this recognition, Bridget demonstrated a deep interest in focusing her engineering studies on transportation and learning the conceptual and technical skills required to support a career developing transportation solutions. Additionally, Bridget immersed herself in the professional associations that support the field through involvement in the student chapters of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. She also showed a “gives back” mindset, via volunteer experiences with the Special Olympics, Day of Service and the “Back on My Feet” program where students meet for a weekly run with the homeless. All of these assets combined to create a solid candidate for the scholarship.

“Bridget has impressed me as a brilliant, sharp, diligent and motivated student with a bright future ahead of her,” recommended Dr. Seri Park, Ph.D., PTP, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “She is well prepared to pursue a career path as a transportation engineer, and I believe she will not only excel, but contribute to the community of young, future scholars/engineers in the field.”

Bridget said, “When I started my studies in civil engineering, and took my first transportation class, I knew I was hooked. I wanted to make transportation my career. I am thrilled to be the first-ever recipient of the Joseph and Peggy McMahon Transportation Engineering Scholarship. This scholarship will enable me to continue pursuing my passion for transportation engineering, and helping to make the world safer and more sustainable, while improving the efficiency of the movement of people.”

The scholarship was created by the Board of Directors of McMahon Associates in tribute to the firm’s founder Joseph McMahon, and his wife, and longest-tenured key partner, Peggy McMahon. The couple established McMahon in 1976 with a “Pay It Forward” dedication at its core, and this scholarship fund preserves their legacy and promotes that commitment into the future to support new engineering generations. The fund, established through the Berks County Community Foundation, provides scholarships to students who are advancing to their junior or senior years of college, and who have declared, and have been accepted into, the major of civil engineering with a focus on transportation engineering.

“It gives Peggy and I great pleasure to award our inaugural scholarship to Bridget Moore, who was the unanimous candidate among all evaluators competing for the award,” said Joseph McMahon, P.E. “Bridget shined through in our candidate evaluations in her enthusiasm for the transportation engineering profession, her outstanding involvement in professional societies, and her passion for charitable volunteerism. She is a well-rounded student that we are proud to support, and look forward to seeing her progress in Villanova’s top-tier engineering program.”

Awarded annually, the Joseph and Peggy McMahon Transportation Engineering Scholarship is open to students in the university engineering programs with a career emphasis in transportation engineering, as specified in the scholarship.