A year ago, we told you how he beat leukemia, earned a 4.0 GPA and brought home an award recognizing him as an Outstanding Senior in the School of Computing or Applied Sciences.
In short, the geology major was a “rock star” in more ways than one– but he’s not done yet.
Now a master’s student in hydrogeology, Cummings is still blazing a trail through Clemson University’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences.
He’s on track to graduate this August, and he recently picked up a national honor: the 2025 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.
Cummings isn’t only excelling in his own studies– he’s helping others succeed, too.
He guides undergraduates through Physical Geology labs and has served as an assistant in Emily Scribner’s Earth Resources lecture. Cummings even had the chance to lecture a few times– to an audience of about 160 students. Just three years ago he was a student in the same course.
“I really like feeling prepared and on top of it,” Cummings said. “I like when I can answer a student’s question without having to say, let me ask the professor or let me look that up. It’s really nice to be able to see students thinking it through and getting something to stick.”
After finishing his master’s, Cummings plans to pursue a Ph.D. in soil science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and he is interested in becoming a professor.
From battling cancer in a hospital room to mapping groundwater flow and leading undergraduates, William Cummings is the kind of comeback story that keeps getting better.
We look forward to the next chapter.
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