December 15, 2025
Mizzou Engineering’s rich history of excellence owes a lot to our global network of championing alumni. Their successes in research and industry speak volumes to our tradition of empowering our students to be their best.
Ashley Hutcheson, BS CiE ’01, is assistant general counsel for Quanta Infrastructure Solutions Group in Houston, Texas. Her career in construction law has spanned many sides of the industry, representing engineers, contractors, owners and developers of commercial and industrial projects across the United States and Canada.
Hutcheson grew up in Houston, Missouri. Her family was very creative – her mom holds a degree in textiles and fashion design, her dad was handy with construction projects around their home and business, and her aunt developed high-end residential subdivisions in Springfield.
“I was fascinated by the planning and design that went into that, including accounting for sinkholes prevalent in the Ozarks,” she said.
Hutcheson studied architectural engineering before transferring to Mizzou as a junior. The adjunct professor who taught her construction management class was also the director of the Department of Planning, Design and Construction.
“He told us he was hiring interns, so I applied,” Hutcheson said.
Hutcheson was hired and earned valuable hands-on experience on such major projects as Cornell Hall, Mizzou Arena and preservation work on Memorial Union. The work also provided her with an opportunity to connect with her family’s Mizzou legacy.
“I learned so much about the history of the university and found amazing archives about what campus looked like in the late 1960s when my dad and uncle were students,” she said.
Hutcheson continued working for Planning, Design and Construction as a full-time management analyst between her December 2001 graduation and starting law school the next fall. She had a long-time goal to pursue a career in construction law.
She practiced at two law firms and two leading engineering and construction firms before joining Quanta Infrastructure Solutions Group earlier this year, and just recently relocated to Texas.
“Living in another state now, it means so much more when I am on the Mizzou campus and someone says, ‘Welcome home!’” she said.
That sense of belonging has been valuable to Hutcheson as an alumna.
“Each time I have moved, I sought out the local Mizzou alumni chapter or other contacts and found an immediate network,” she said.
Hutcheson lived 14 years in Kansas City, where she became president of the local Mizzou Alumni Association (MAA) chapter and connected with campus leaders like President Mun Y. Choi, Mizzou Engineering Dean Marisa Chrysochoou and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Chair Praveen Edara.
As a new member of the MAA Board of Directors, Hutcheson encourages her fellow alumni to support current students by writing congratulatory notes to new freshmen, attending career fairs or providing shadowing, internship and mentoring opportunities.
“It is so easy to have a meaningful impact on students with small efforts,” she said. “Connecting with students, faculty and the campus year after year instills such pride in me as a Tiger and inspires me to continue donating in any way possible.”
Hutcheson also recommends alumni return to campus to catch up on the many regular expansions and upgrades.
“I am ecstatic for the next five to 10 years of planned investments involving Mizzou Engineering, especially the Energy Innovation Center and NextGen MU Research Reactor,” she said. “The research and business collaborations that will result from these world-class centers will truly revolutionize the energy and medical industries.”
Hutcheson will deliver the keynote address at the Mizzou Engineering commencement ceremony Dec. 20. She encourages new graduates to retain a learning mindset.
“Do not be afraid to ask questions, whether that’s clarification from your supervisors or clients, or advice and support from peers,” she said. “College taught you the fundamentals, and now you will really be learning on the job.”
The Mizzou Engineering commencement ceremony will be held at noon Saturday, Dec. 20 in the Hearnes Center.
See more examples of Mizzou Engineering alumni who are building a better world.