Tuscaloosa, Alabama–Lee Hayes of Paris, a Junior at Mississippi State University, was part of something special recently when his team placed first at the American Society of Civil Engineering Student Symposium in Tuscaloosa. Hayes is majoring in Civil Engineering and is the son of Matt and Stacy Hayes of Paris.
The Mississippi State University (MSU) American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Chapter gave a solid performance at the 2025 ASCE Gulf Coast Student Symposium which was held on March 12-14, 2026 at the University of Alabama. Hundreds of students from 13 universities in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi competed in several competitions at the symposium.
The MSU Student Chapter earned a top three place in 8 of the 13 competitions they participated in. Josh Pace, MSU ASCE Student Chapter President, stated “I thought we did well with what we competed in. I was proud of everyone’s efforts.”
Led by Team Captain Josh Artman with support from team members Garrison Ashley, David Wallace, and Lee Hayes, MSU placed 1st Overall in the Construction Institute (CI) competition. The accomplishment was achieved despite the MSU Student Chapter having only participated in this competition for the 2nd time. The CI competition is a major competition at the Symposium which requires teams to work on a construction engineering design project within a two-hour time frame. Subsequently, the teams present their design to judges.
The recognized Best Speaker from last year’s competition, Jacob Fox, also provided crucial support to prime the team prior to the competition. Josh Artman said “We were honored to be able to represent Mississippi State well and look forward to representing the MSU School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the future. We appreciate the opportunity to attend and showcase what we’ve learned here at State.”
Photo: Lee Hayes is second from right in photo.