Eastern Hancock grad receives student of the year honor

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GREENFIELD — A 2010 Eastern Hancock High School graduate recently received a prestigious honor from the National Center for Transit Research.

In November, Austin Gibble of Greenfield has been selected as the 2016 National Center for Transit Research Student of the Year and was honored at University of South Florida at a banquet.

“It was surprising,” Gibble said. “It is an honor and it’s very exciting.”

In January, he will travel to the Transportation Research Board Conference in Washington, D.C., and he will be honored at the Council of University Transportation Centers Annual Awards Banquet. This honor includes recognition and a certificate from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Gibble, 25, said he looks forward to the opportunity to network with other professionals in the urban and regional planning industry.

Gibble is in his second year of graduate school at the University of South Florida, where he is studying urban and regional planning with a focus in transportation planning and land use. His area of study focuses on how to make cities more livable and inclusive for people who live in them, regardless of economic level, he said, specifically in regard to what methods of transportation are available to them.

He graduated from Ball State University, where he majored in industry and technology, in 2014. He was active in FFA, 4-H and Boy Scouts, earning his Eagle Scout designation.