Charting New Waters: Third McKay Sibling Finds Her Own Engineering Path at U of A

When Katie McKay walks across the graduation stage this May, she'll be the third McKay sibling to earn a degree from the U of A College of Engineering. Her older brothers pursued computer engineering and computer science, but she took a different path, one that would lead her to discover a passion she never expected. 

Growing up in Vilonia as one of 10 children, McKay watched her brothers succeed at the U of A. Their achievements set a high bar, but they also showed her what was possible. 

"I was always interested in engineering, because I like math and science, but then watching them go to the U of A and seeing how successful they were really encouraged me to come here too," McKay said. 

But McKay's path wasn't straightforward. She arrived at the university initially set on biomedical engineering, convinced that healthcare was the only way to help people with her skills. Her family was split between individuals with medical and engineering careers, and biomedical engineering seemed like the perfect combination. She'd been planning on it since middle school. 

Then came the biological engineering information session, hosted by the First-Year Engineering program. What she heard in this session changed everything. 

"I wanted to make a career out of helping people live healthier lives," McKay explained. "Biological engineering appealed to me in the information session because it is all about providing people with clean water, safe food and energy. I realized that healthcare was not the only way that I could use my skills and passions to help others." 

So, McKay changed her major to biological engineering. The water portion of the presentation particularly struck her. She realized that some people still don't have access to clean water, and that she could be part of solving that problem. 

That passion led McKay to the Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC) during her sophomore year, where she worked as a lab technician on water quality research. A unit of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the U of A System Division of Agriculture, the AWRC is directed by Brian Haggard, who also serves as a professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering. 

Her experiences at the AWRC became foundational to her education and her career in ways she hadn't anticipated. 

"Working at the AWRC was awesome, because I joined there right after my sophomore year, so I hadn't learned a lot about biological engineering just yet, so working there was really the foundation that I built off of in my classes," McKay said. "I can't explain enough how much my co-workers taught me in the lab. So much so that whenever I took classes like water quality later on, all of that was just common knowledge to me at that point." 

While working at the AWRC, McKay had the opportunity to be a part of their inaugural Water Fellows cohort, an intensive summer research internship for undergraduate students. In the program, students work with faculty on water-related projects that address the state's emerging research needs. At the end of the summer, the program concludes with the fellows presenting their findings in a poster at the annual Agriculture, Forestry and Water Conference, which the AWRC co-hosts.  

McKay's Water Fellow research focused on applying dried water treatment residuals to soil to prevent phosphorus runoff into streams, a significant issue in Arkansas, where agricultural fertilizer can wash into waterways and cause harmful algal blooms. The project worked, giving McKay hands-on experience tackling real environmental challenges facing Arkansas communities and continuing to fuel her passion for water quality. 

"My passion is to make water more accessible and also cleaner, because one without the other is pretty useless," McKay said. "I just want to help people live healthier lives." 

While her brothers found success in computer-focused fields, McKay discovered a different path in biological engineering, a tight-knit community united by a shared mission, to design sustainable water, food, energy and agricultural systems. 

"I love our culture," McKay said. "It's unique in how supportive everyone is. There's something special about the people in our major. You can tell they really care about the work, because what we do matters for the environment." 

That supportive environment has been central to McKay's success. She especially credits her adviser, Brian Haggard. McKay shared that he was the one who offered her the lab position at the AWRC, which helped her solidify her career choice, connected her to additional research opportunities and provided guidance throughout her time in the program. 

"Anytime I've ever needed help with something, he's always taken the time to help me," McKay said. 

Along with the influential faculty mentorship, the department's hands-on coursework prepared her well for the next step in her career. McKay's favorite project came in the unit operations class, where students sized pumps and pipes, calculated pressure requirements and ultimately designed and built a functioning system to pump water from a low reservoir to a high reservoir at a specific pressure. 

That practical experience will serve her well at Hawkins-Weir Engineers in Fayetteville, where she'll work as a staff engineer immediately after graduation. In this position, she'll be designing piping and pumping systems for municipalities, work that connects directly to her passion for water systems. 

For Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department head Terry Howell Jr., McKay's four years tell the story of a student who arrived asking how she could use engineering to help others and left having done exactly that. 

"Katie embodies what biological engineering is all about: using engineering to improve people's lives. She came in asking how she could make a difference, and everything she did here, from her research with the AWRC to her coursework kept building toward that. Hawkins-Weir is getting a talented engineer, and the communities she serves are going to be better for it," Howell said. 

Looking back at her journey in biological engineering at the U of A, she's grateful for the information session that opened her eyes to new possibilities and a department that challenged her to grow. "I've gained so much since arriving here... I was challenged to consider what I want to do and where I can make the greatest impact in my career," McKay said.

For high school students who love biology and math but aren't sure about their path, McKay has clear advice based on her own experience. 

"I'm really passionate about this major in a way I never expected," she said. "What's more important than helping people access sustainable water, food and energy? We all need those things, and you'll always have a job." 

While her brothers forged successful careers in computer-focused fields, McKay found her own path, one that runs through streams and soil, pipes and pumps, and ultimately to communities in Arkansas and around the world who need clean, accessible water. She's proof that the best career choices aren't always the ones we plan from middle school, but the ones we discover when we stay open to new possibilities. 

And in a family of 10 children, half in medical fields and half in engineering, McKay has found her own unique place, using engineering to improve health and lives in ways she never initially imagined.