Weston County

Mike Farnsworth

Michael Farnsworth meets many fellow UW alumni in his industry. “I have tremendous pride for the Wyoming Cowboys and have met many colleagues in the energy industry from UW,” he says. “I believe the quality of education for the price cannot be beat!”

Farnsworth graduated in 1994 with a degree in civil engineering and an emphasis in environmental engineering. “The detailed engineering classes were very beneficial in my early years as an environmental and project engineer,” he says. “As I progressed throughout my career, I’ve always used my education from UW to help with the different stepping stones.”

For the past 12 years, Farnsworth has served as the vice president of the Wyoming Refining Co. and Wyoming Pipeline Co. in Newcastle, which are owned by Par Pacific. The company refines crude oil to clean fuels such as propane, butane, jet fuel, diesel and gasoline. He’s been with the company for 25 years, with past roles including environmental engineer, project engineer and various managerial positions.

“I was born and raised in Newcastle and have pretty much lived here all my life, with the exception of a couple of years working at a refinery outside of Chicago,” Farnsworth says.

Active in the community, he’s served as treasurer of the Newcastle Volunteer Fire Department and helped coach youth football and baseball.

His daughter Ashten currently attends UW and is in her senior year in the College of Business focusing on human resources.

“I very much enjoyed my time at the University of Wyoming,” Farnsworth says.” I still have lifelong friends from my days there and believe it’s a great value for the education.”

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