Growing up in Chicago, Logan Browning gained his passion for construction from his father, Mark, who still works in the field.
“He has done construction my whole life,” he said. “I would go to the job site and help him out. He would tell me, ‘If you like what I do, go to school so you don’t have to labor and do exactly what I do.’
“But, I enjoy doing the hands-on stuff in the field, building things and working with different contractors in those areas, so I focused on the construction route.”
While walking in his dad’s career footsteps, Browning created a legacy of his own. The second youngest of six children, he became the first person in his family to earn a college degree with his undergrad.
Browning, an avid Formula 1 fan who travels to attend races, then took his higher education one step further by graduating from Boise State University’s Online Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Construction Management in December 2024.
“My employer promotes furthering your education with tuition reimbursement,” he said. “For me, it was a no-brainer. I had always thought about doing a master’s degree after I graduated with my bachelor’s. If someone is going to pay for it, then why not?”
Now in his fifth year working at Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Idaho, Browning is a digital twin visualization scientist with a wife, Bre, and a two-year-old son.
“I started a master’s program through another university,” he said. “I didn’t vibe with the courses. Every class was different — some in-person, some remote, some hybrid, some online at a certain time. I didn’t like it.
“Working full-time and having a family, it was hard for me to work all day, then go to class for a few hours. That didn’t interest me. I finished the semester, then took a pause to re-think what I wanted to do. Boise State’s program was completely online. I also liked the construction management emphasis.”
Pole position
Browning graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in virtual design and construction in 2021. He did one semester of a master’s program before enrolling at Boise State in January the following year.
“I knew about Boise State because of the blue turf,” he said. “I talked to a lot of people at the laboratory who had earned a degree there and said it’s very manageable.”
“They tried to let you utilize what you’re doing at your job with the assignments that were due in the MBA program. I was writing about what I do day-to-day. It was a good back and forth communication.”
Browning especially enjoyed Introduction and Business Foundations and the three courses in the Construction Management Emphasis: Leadership in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Architecture, Engineering and Construction Project Management and Architecture, Engineering and Construction Company Management.
“The introductory course brought me back into that school setting,” he said. “I had a good group to work with and learned some new things. The construction management emphasis courses were great, as well, because they made sense to me.
“There are things I learned that I didn’t know before, like patents, trademarks and copyrights in the law class. It isn’t applicable to my current job, but it was still good to understand.
“I gained a lot of the technical side from the program, like writing papers, being in the laboratory, being able to talk in groups and propose my ideas. Those kinds of soft skills I learned and refined being in a master’s program with people with like-minded thoughts.”
Browning believes that having an MBA in Construction Management is paying dividends for his career, now and in the future.
“It absolutely creates opportunities,” he said. “A lot of people stop at their bachelor’s or don’t even get a degree now with the accessibility of certificates. Seeing that I have a master’s from an accredited and recognizable school is what most employers want.”
Vroom, vroom
Browning was on hand in Boise to walk in the January 2025 commencement ceremony after he crossed the finish line of the Online MBA program.
“It was good to get on campus,” he said. “I met classmates I had only met virtually. It was a great weekend. My family and friends didn’t expect me to get a master’s degree, but they weren’t surprised.
“My wife said, ‘Are you sure you want to do a two-year commitment?’ The way I was able to do my classes on my own was really helpful. When the baby went to bed or she was ready to relax, I could hop on and get my work done and still have that work-life balance.”
With an MBA on his resumé, Browning looks forward to seeing where his career takes him down the road.
“Growing up and in my undergrad, I wanted to work for a big construction company doing large commercial projects or athletic stadiums,” he said. “Now, I work at an actual laboratory where we are building new nuclear reactors.
“I never thought I would do this, but it’s cool and state-of-the-art. My end goal is to apply my construction ideas to benefit a project, whether it’s engineering-related or construction management-related.”
Although he didn’t start his master’s degree at Boise State, like in Formula 1, it’s all about where you finish.
“If you recently graduated with your undergraduate or have been out of school for 10 years, it’s a good program to hop right back into,” he said. “It’s not too much of a learning curve or too demanding. It’s not going to be two years of chaos. It’s something to appreciate and learn from. I got a good education and backbone alumni behind me. Boise State is a school most people know.”
Learn more about the Online MBA
Earning an Online Master of Business Administration from Boise State University can open doors to new opportunities and a brighter future — and we’re here to support you every step of the way. Whether you’re exploring if an online degree is right for you or need help transferring credits, connecting with a student success coach is the perfect first step.
Ready to learn more? Attend one of our online information sessions or contact a student success coach today.