For four Clemson Honors students, volunteering isn’t just something they do. It’s how they live with purpose, empathy and an unwavering belief in the power of people.
Ainara Garcia, Cooper Gill, Stephanie Rodriguez-Umana and Natalia Nortz represent different majors and have all also supported their fellow students and the surrounding community in different ways.
Collectively, they have mentored their peers, launched STEM education initiatives and supported individuals with disabilities — immersing themselves in a wide range of service opportunities that reflect the University’s focus on transforming lives statewide and beyond.
Rooted in service
Garcia, a computer engineering major from Clemson, South Carolina, is a lifelong community volunteer, including at local nonprofit organizations and area schools.
Her family’s ties to the University run deep. Her father is a chemistry professor and faculty fellow for the Office of Faculty Advancement. Both of her parents encouraged Garcia and her brother to foster their curiosity and “push the bounds of what education looked like.”
Now a Clemson student herself, Garcia has served in student government and several STEM-focused programs across campus, earning her the University’s Matt Locke Leadership Award in April.
Garcia and Rodriguez-Umana are also both Breakthrough Scholars, which provides financial support and dedicated academic and professional development for a select group of undergraduate STEM majors who reside in the state and are interested in pursuing advanced degrees.
This is not Gill’s only volunteering initiative at Clemson. Gill, a health sciences major from Richmond, Virginia, is responsible for the most successful annual student-run fundraiser, Clemson Miracle’s TIGERthon, which raised over $107,000 in 2025. As a former volunteer for the TEDx event, and now sponsorship lead, she is responsible for marketing, sponsor identification and cultivation, and finance.
Nortz, a biological sciences major from Fort Mill, South Carolina, brings a similarly expansive vision to her work. A Junior Membership Educator with Alpha Omega Epsilon, she’s played a leadership role in mentoring women in technical fields.
Nortz is also a Dixon Global Policy Scholar, a highly competitive program that challenges and equips a select group of Honors College students to tackle the world’s most pressing policy issues.
That program introduced Nortz to two other Honors students who worked with her to design a mobile STEM academy for middle school students in underserved South Carolina communities. The project earned the team the Clemson prize in the statewide Pay It Forward competition, an achievement she credits in part to her experience on campus.
“We wanted to create hands-on learning experiences that ignite curiosity,” she said. “Clemson has given us the tools to do that and the platform to take it further.”
Waves of transformation
Garcia, Gill, Rodriguez-Umana and Nortz recently came together to run TEDx Clemson, a student-led TED event that will take place on campus this fall. The team oversees every detail associated with the event, from speaker outreach and training to sponsorships, logistics and audience engagement.
According to Garcia, this year’s event theme, “Waves of Transformation,” came from personal experience following a medical diagnosis for a close family member.
“It changed everything,” said Garcia. “Life can turn overnight. TEDx Clemson became a way to find meaning in the chaos and help others do the same.”
Their speaker lineup this year includes doctors, researchers, student advocates, veterans and entrepreneurs, all sharing deeply personal stories of change and growth.
“We want students to walk away knowing that not having everything figured out is okay,” said Nortz. “Some of our most inspiring speakers didn’t either. That’s part of the journey.”
The team works with five other students — for a total planning group of 9 people — to create an event that inspires and educates while encouraging attendees to make their own transformational impact.
“This is the group project I always wanted,” Nortz said. “No grades. Just people who care.”
Living the Clemson mission
According to Garcia, every member of the planning team embodies the values that define a Clemson education: service, leadership, creativity and resilience. Whether coordinating TEDx Clemson talks, mentoring local students or supporting inclusive learning through the Youth Scholars Program, they continually find ways to lift others up.
“Clemson is big enough to offer amazing opportunities,” said Garcia, “but small enough that you feel like you belong. That’s what makes it special.”
