Note: The following appears in the December issue of Orange: The Experience. For full access to all of the publication’s content, join IPTAY today by calling 864-656-2115.
Q. Where are you from?A. I am from Wheaton, Ill.
Q. Why did you choose Clemson?A. I wanted somewhere with warm weather first, and then I looked at academics and sports.
Q. What is your major and why did you choose it?A. My major is civil engineering, and I chose it because I want to do architecture. I decided that civil engineering had more opportunities, and I like math.
Q. What is your favorite part of your major?A. I like structures, and I’m going to emphasize in structural engineering, which is buildings and bridges and how they’re constructed.
Q. What is your favorite class you’ve taken at Clemson?A. Structural mechanics. It’s the math part of structural engineering…how beams react and all of the equations and properties that go along with that.
Q. Who is your biggest inspiration?A. My older sister. She’s also an engineer, a chemical engineer, so it’s cool to see how far she’s gone with her career. Knowing she’s one of the few girls in her major and job…it’s cool to see that actually happening, and for me and my brother to follow in her footsteps.
Q. What is your favorite memory as a Tiger?A. Not involving diving, the Notre Dame-Clemson football game last year. With diving, I would say our training trip during my freshman year. We go to Florida every year after finals in December, and I walked on my freshman year and didn’t really know anyone, so that trip was the first time that I actually hung out with the team altogether and realized that I really liked them as well as the sport. It was a cool realization.
Q. How did you get involved with diving?A. I came to Clemson wanting to try out for the cheer team because I did gymnastics and cheerleading in high school, but the cheer coach talked to the diving coach about me, and the diving coach emailed me asking me to try out. I had never dove before, and I was actually terrified of it, but she encouraged me to do it. I tried out for a week, and she told me that they wanted me on the team. Now I have skills that I’ve learned in a year and a half that people work on for 15 years.
Q. How has being a college diver influenced your life?A. It’s proven to me that I can handle more than I thought I could. When I started, I thought that I would just do it for a year, and if it was too much to handle or I didn’t like it, I would quit because I didn’t have any ties to it. But it goes to show that you can try new things, things you thought you would never do, and end up loving them.
Q. What are your hobbies?A. I like to read when I don’t have school, and I like painting and other art. I like hiking, but I’ve actually never been hiking anywhere around here.
Q. What do you love most about the Clemson area?A. I like the homey feel. I love the little downtown area…it’s so cute and southern. I also love the college campus feel and how the town is Clemson University.
Q. What are you involved in at Clemson besides diving?A. I am involved in civil engineering ambassadors, so I give civil-focused tours to potential engineering students. I’ve also been a RiSE ambassador (Residents in Science & Engineering) and a part of WiSE (Women in Science & Engineering).
Q. What is your dream job?A. To work at an architecture firm as a structural engineer and be able to get my certification as a Professional Engineer and Professional Structural Engineer. I want to be somewhere in the South, but I don’t have a specific place or company in mind. My dream is to build my own house, which I think would be awesome.
Q. What lasting impact do you hope to leave on Clemson?A. I always say that I hope to impact younger people and make people want to come here. I hope that my love for Clemson expands to other people. That’s why I love being a civil engineering ambassador, because I can impact someone’s decision to come here.
Q. If you could tell the Clemson family one thing, what would it be?A. I appreciate every day at Clemson. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Whether it’s diving or school, everything that Clemson has thrown at me, I’ve taken it with a lot of gratitude.
April 18, 2024
April 17, 2024
