Madison Villarba, a rising junior in the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Dick Trainor Scholarship by the Maryland Association of Engineers. The annual award supports outstanding students in Maryland who are pursuing higher education in the field of engineering.
Majoring in civil engineering while pursuing minors in systems engineering and writing seminars, Villarba was chosen for her academic achievements and community involvement. She’s working towards a career in structural engineering, with a focus on inclusion and tangible, positive impacts on the built environment. She credits her father, a mechanical engineer, for inspiring her to pursue a career in civil engineering. “He would often point out buildings that he had worked on, sparking my desire to do the same,” said Villarba. “The idea that my work could make a tangible impact on communities is what drives me. I wanted to be able to look at a structure and say ‘I helped build that.’”
In addition to her academic pursuits, Villarba serves as treasurer of the JHU student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and is an active member of the university’s Steel Bridge team. She is also secretary for the Filipino Students Association and events coordinator for the JHU Pep Band.
The Dick Trainor Scholarship, established in 1991, honors the legacy and contributions of Richard “Dick” Trainor, a Johns Hopkins civil engineering alumnus and a pillar of the Maryland transportation industry for more than four decades. Trainor’s career began as an engineer with the Maryland State Highway Administration when it was known as the State Roads Commission, working on the Capital Beltway, Baltimore Beltway, and Jones Falls Expressway. Trainor also held leadership roles as deputy director of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works—overseeing projects such as the National Aquarium and upgrades to the Montebello Water Treatment Facility—and later as the commissioner for Baltimore City’s Department of Transportation.
This year’s award was presented in honor of Ken McDonald, a fellow Hopkins engineering alumnus whose 48-year career in Maryland’s transportation industry began at the Maryland State Highway Administration. McDonald rose to division chief for the Engineering Access Permits Division, later working for 17 years with Johnson, Mirmiran, and Thompson, retiring in 2021 as the deputy chief marketing officer. McDonald recommended that the scholarship be given to a Johns Hopkins civil engineering student this year.
Since its inception, the scholarship program has supported 98 Maryland engineering students, making Villarba the 99th recipient.