Puzzling for a cause

When graphic communications alum Elizabeth McElveen ’99 decided to come to Clemson, she was supported by generations of Clemson Tigers. She had grown up a Tiger fan her whole life, so it only made sense that she’d enroll at her happy place.

“Clemson felt like home from the start. The people, the support and the sense of community made all the difference in helping me grow, both in my career and as a person.”

Later on, when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, she rediscovered a childhood passion—puzzling. At the time, she was grieving the recent loss of her mother to Alzheimer’s, and puzzling became a way to honor her memory. In 2019, as rheumatoid arthritis made hobbies like baking and cookie decorating more difficult, she turned back to puzzles.

“Puzzling has always been a part of my life, but after my mom’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis and later my own health challenges, it became a way to stay connected to my mom and keep my brain and memory strong.”

McElveen’s love for puzzles soon became a way to connect with others as well, especially during the pandemic, when she discovered speed puzzling. She joined an online platform dedicated to it, met fellow enthusiasts across the country and even began raising funds and awareness for the Alzheimer’s Association in honor of her mother.

The Alzheimer’s Association hosts a number of benefits throughout the year. One of them, the Longest Day, is on June 21st, the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. People participated in the event by doing something they loved that day, and, for McElveen, that was puzzles.

McElveen has been participating in the Longest Day for seven years, but in 2023, she decided to switch things up and push herself to puzzle for 24 hours. On social media, she shared her by puzzling from 7 pm on the 20th to 7 pm on the 21st with her followers, and when the second year rolled around, companies reached out to sponsor her.

“It’s inspiring how this has grown. It started as a personal challenge, but soon, puzzle companies wanted to sponsor, and my community jumped in to donate. Seeing so many people come together to support the cause has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.” This has now become an annual fundraiser, and in 2024, she was one of the top 10 fundraising teams in South Carolina.

Not only has puzzling provided her a way to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s, but it has also opened the door for her to find friends from around the world who also love puzzles. Her most recent international experience was in Valladolid, Spain, for the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship this past September. McElveen competed with 1200 speed puzzlers from around the world, and her four-person team finished 45th out of the 300 competing teams. “Being able to go to Spain to compete in World’s was such a special experience,” McElveen says. “Spain itself is a beautiful place, and going there with people I’ve met through puzzling, was an amazing experience.”

In February, she competed in Minnesota at the largest puzzle competition in the Western Hemisphere. Finishing a 500-piece puzzle in 0:19:54, her four-person team placed fourth.

This past year, she put together 682 puzzles and dreams of one day using her Clemson graphic communications degree to design and create puzzles of her own. Puzzling has taken McElveen across the nation and world and has allowed her to find something she loves to do while advocating and raising money for Alzheimer’s research.