‘Okay, I’m going to do it and be an engineer’

Eddie Lewis was a sophomore at Spring Hill High School when the torrential rains of October 2015 caused nearly $1.5 billion in damage from Columbia to Charleston, including a broken sewer main that led to a prolonged boil-water advisory at her family’s Columbia home.

To Eddie, it was clear the state’s infrastructure was inadequate, and she wanted to be part of the solution. With her strength in math and science, she already had a start.

“Okay,” Eddie remembers thinking, “I’m going to do it and be an engineer.”

She considered several schools in and out of state, and Clemson University felt right.

Eddie, who is now a senior majoring in civil engineering, has been a standout student. She received the 2021 Herbert W. Busching Outstanding Junior Award from the Glenn Department of Civil Engineering. Eddie is also the recipient of the B. P. Barber Endowment Scholarship for the 2021-22 academic year.

She has been highly involved in helping other students. Eddie is in her third year of serving as a tutor through PEER & WISE. She also serves as a mentor to fellow civil engineering students through CE-MENT, and she gives tours to prospective students who express an interest in civil engineering.

For Eddie, it’s hard to pin down any single moment that has been her proudest at Clemson, but last fall’s ring ceremony came to her mind because it hammered home just how close to graduation she is.

Eddie is on track to graduate in May with her Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, and then she is headed to Washington, D.C. for an internship. But she isn’t done being a Tiger just yet.

After her internship, Eddie is planning to return to Clemson for her master’s in civil engineering.