Seniors Advising Sophomores in Honors (SASH)

Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Mathematical Sciences

Returning for senior year, Grayson is excited to be part of the SASH program helping give back to the amazing students that make the Honors College so great. In his three years, Grayson has engaged with several organizations around campus, focusing his involvement in the Peer-Assisted Learning program, the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts, and the Clemson Grand Challenge Scholars, taking active leadership roles within all three. Moreover, Grayson is heavily involved with the Clemson Honors College as an Honors Student Advisory Board member and an Honors Student Ambassador. In addition to his on-campus Honors involvement, Grayson has studied abroad in South Africa and Spain with the National Scholars Program, opportunities made possible by the Honors College. Grayson is excited to talk with you about getting involved around Clemson and within honors. For several semesters, Grayson has also been involved with research in the lab of Dr. Martinez-Duarte, investigating structural fuel cells using origami and bacterial cellulose. This research sparked his interest in sustainable and efficient energy storage and usage, inspiring him to pursue the Summer Research Initiative at Arizona State University last summer. In this program, Grayson worked with Dr. Phelan to develop the future of heat pumps for decarbonized industrial heating and cooling applications. While doing this research, Grayson also interned at the ASU Industrial Assessment Center, a Department of Energy-funded organization that provides free energy efficiency audits to local industrial and commercial facilities to help businesses save money and energy. With all these experiences under his belt, Grayson is extremely excited to help you make the most of the rest of your time at Clemson!

Hometown: Greenville, SC
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Spanish Studies

Chloe is not ready for it to be her final year as a Tiger, but is so excited to meet all the advisees this fall! Chloe decided to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree due to her passion for renewable and clean energy solutions and has had lots of opportunities to explore this field through her major. The summer after her freshman year, Chloe worked in Dr. Timothy DeVol’s lab in the Environmental Engineering department. She tested the radioactive hardness of a variety of commercially produced vacuum pump oils for potential use in ITER, an internationally collaborative project to create a large scale nuclear fusion reactor.

The summer after Chloe’s second year, she worked for Dominion Energy at Surry Nuclear Power Station as a Mechanical Design Intern. This summer, she is working at GE Hitachi Nuclear Engineering on their Plant Systems Integration Team for the BWRX-300 SMR. On campus, Chloe is actively involved in Grand Challenge Scholars, Theta Tau Professional Engineering Fraternity, and Spanish Club. In addition to her past nuclear research, Chloe is now on Dr. Ardalan Vahidi and Dr. Matt Voigt’s research teams. With Dr. Vahidi, she is completing her Departmental Honors thesis on Determining Optimized Race Pace Strategy for Cyclists through Dynamic Systems Modeling. With Dr. Voigt, she is conducting qualitative research on Queer Issues in STEM through the Engineering and Science Education Department. She has also had the opportunity to study abroad in South Africa and Spain with the National Scholars Program, both of which were life changing experiences. In her free time, she loves to read, hike, bake, and practice yoga. Chloe had incredible Honors College mentors her freshman and sophomore years and is eager to give back as both a mentor and a friend.

Hometown: Charleston, SC
Major: Wildlife and Fisheries Biology
Minor: Business Management

As a senior, Christian is most excited to give back to the programs at Clemson that have been most meaningful to him the past 3 years. Christian keeps busy serving as a Statistics tutor with the Academic Success Center and as a DJ with WSBF-FM student radio. His primary involvement on campus is with the coed Service Fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, where he has led projects like the Clemson-USC Blood Bowl and Scouting University. In addition to his studies, Christian has been able to pursue his interest in ecology and environmental studies through Fire Tigers, Clemson’s volunteer prescribed burn crew. This fall, he will also be wrapping up his Departmental Honors Thesis with Dr. David Jachowski where he is investigating applications of image processing softwares in camera trap wildlife studies. This past summer, Christian interned with Weyerhaeuser, the leading forest products and land management company in the U.S. In his free time, Christian enjoys hiking, cooking, and listening to music. Christian is excited to meet this year’s cohort of SASH mentees!

Hometown: Silver Spring, MD
Major: Mechanical Engineering

After a great summer working as an intern in Milwaukee, Peter is returning to Clemson for his senior year and is excited to be a SASH mentor! Having been a SASH mentee himself, he wanted to take on the mentor role to give back to the program. Peter has some great work experience having two internships through his time at Clemson and is happy to answer any professional questions! The first internship was with Rauch Inc, an engineering and construction company based in Maryland where he learned many of the basics of HVAC and construction with firsthand experience. His second internship was this past summer with Navico Group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin which was a manufacturing internship centered around the creation of boat panels. Being an avid boater, Peter pursued a related internship and got a lot of great experience as well as an understanding of the industry. When not busy with school or work, some of his interests include playing rugby for the club rugby team, intramural sports, working out and supporting the Tigers at football games! He is looking forward to meeting his advisees this fall!

Hometown: Georgetown, MA
Major: Genetics
Minor: Biochemistry & Spanish Studies

As a previous mentee herself, Lindsey is excited to give back to the SASH program during her final year at Clemson. While she is sad that her time at Clemson is coming to an end, Lindsey is grateful for all of the doors Clemson has opened for her, and is hoping to help her mentees make the most of their time as a Tiger! During her time at Clemson, she has developed a strong interest in the molecular biology/biology field and hopes to pursue a career in the biotechnology industry. She spent this past summer interning at New England Biolabs in the RNA research division where she investigated novel ribonucleases using LC-MS/MS. Through this experience, she learned about the biotechnology space and how scientific research is conducted and communicated within a business. At Clemson, Lindsey has spent her last two years as an undergraduate researcher in the Seekatz lab characterizing an understudied genus of bacteria, Anaerostipes, found in the gut microbiome. Through this experience, she has utilized several microbiological techniques for phenotypic observation as well as bioinformatic pipelines to understand the phylogenomics and metabolic capabilities of these bacterial species which contribute to host health. In addition, she is a member of the Science Student Advisory Board (SciSAB) and treasurer of the Microbiological Society. She has also participated in various intramural sports and CHAARG (Changing Health, Attitudes, + Actions to Recreate Girls). During her free time, she loves to travel, try new restaurants, go to the gym, and cheer on the football, soccer, and basketball teams! Lindsey is looking forward to helping her mentees find their niche at Clemson and is very excited to meet new faces!

Hometown: Patchogue, NY
Major: Political Science
Minor: Criminal Justice

Returning for the last and final stretch, Rose is not ready for it to be over, but can’t wait to be back in Clemson! Rose has decided to pursue a degree in Political Science due to her persistent interest in politics and government and in hopes of attending law school next fall! The summer after her freshman year she had the honor of working as an intern for her hometown district congressman, Lee Zeldin and experiencing what life was like in the world of politics while in the midst of an upcoming election. Currently studying for her LSAT, she can’t wait to get more involved with law and politics. She is beyond excited to start her senior year working as a SASH member and getting to meet all of you! The honors college here at Clemson has been a huge part of her career as a student where she was both a mentee and mentor for our Honors College Mentor Program. Along with this, her involvement on campus these past few years has included participating in the Honors Dixon Fellowship Program with Dr. Mariela Fernandez where she studied student enrichment activities and expanded on her societal knowledge. Her freshman year she was a part of Freshman Council where she helped organize the Spring Block Party with Sean Kingston, the end of year movie showing, “Remember the Titans” and assisted the rest of CUSG in putting together Clemson’s Annual Tigerama event. Finally, she is the Student Director of Clemson's Annual Giving Phonathon Program where she works to collect donations for the academic side of our university. In her free time she loves to go to the beach, go camping (glamping) with her family and go to all possible Clemson football and baseball games! Rose is excited to get to meet all of her new advisees this upcoming fall!

Hometown: Columbia, SC
Major: Accounting
Minor: Financial Management

Lucy is thrilled to be returning to Clemson this fall as a senior and a SASH mentor. Lucy has had the most amazing past three years at Clemson University and is looking forward to an exciting last year as a student. This past spring semester, Lucy studied abroad in Florence, Italy and truly had the best experience. She traveled to 8 countries and over 15 cities when she was not in class learning how to cook Italian dishes, studying European architecture, and visiting important landmarks throughout Italy. During her time at Clemson, Lucy has been involved in her sorority Delta Delta Delta, served as an Honors College Ambassador, and has worked part-time for the Athletic Services department as a Tutor. Being a member of various organizations has been a highlight of Lucy’s time at Clemson. This past summer Lucy worked for FORVIS, an accounting firm, in Greenville, South Carolina. Following graduation this upcoming May, Lucy plans to attend graduate school to receive her Masters in Accounting. While she attends graduate school, she will be studying and sitting for the CPA exams in the hopes of passing each section before working full time. Next summer, Lucy plans to live in Atlanta, Georgia and work for PWC, one of the “Big 4” accounting firms. In her free time, Lucy loves being social and spending time with her friends and family. She has a younger brother who is a rising sophomore at Clemson and loves spending game days with her family! In addition, Lucy loves to exercise and can constantly be found running or walking on the Dikes. I cannot wait to serve as a SASH mentor this fall and look forward to meeting y’all soon!

Hometown: Spartanburg, SC
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Major: Physics

Aiden is super excited to come back to Clemson this fall and meet all the new SASH mentees! This summer, he was in Los Alamos, New Mexico hiking as many mountains as possible and studying how vibration controller software can predict real world tests at Los Alamos National Labs. While his actual major is Mechanical Engineering, he is interested in a variety of different fields, which he has spent considerable time looking into at Clemson. Ever since his freshman year, he has been a part of the Clemson chapter of Engineers Without Borders. As the president, he has been working to improve the water quantity and quality of a small town in Nicaragua. Moreover, his departmental honors research project is with Dr. Redmond in the Civil Engineering department. This project involves discovering the fatigue characteristics of a metallic glass produced by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory to see if it would be able to act as a hinge on a lunar rover. Some of the other activities that Aiden has been a part of at Clemson include tutoring Statics and Dynamics through the ASC, working as a UPIC Intern to 3D model Paris in VR, and taking a variety of classes on insects and butterflies. He is also a part of Clemson Experimental Forest Trail Running Club, Tau Beta Pi, Triathlon Club, and Grand Challenge Scholars. In his free time, he enjoys trying to read as much as possible and running through the Clemson Experimental Forest, where he ran a marathon last year. This year, he is looking forward to going to some more football and soccer games, eating more Chicken Tenders from Esso, spending a lot of time exploring the nature surrounding Clemson, and especially meeting his new mentees!

Hometown: Hampton Bays, NY
Major: Political Science and Economics with a concentration in Global Politics

Riley is in denial that she is going to be a senior at Clemson but is so excited to make the most of her final year here, including through the SASH program. She has had the best time at Clemson so far and has been able to take advantage of amazing opportunities offered by the university and the honors college. Some of her favorite memories come from studying abroad in Paris, Spain, and South Africa the past two summers with the Dixon Global Policy Scholars Program and the National Scholars Program. She has also had the opportunity to be on a creative inquiry team since her freshman year and travel to research conferences in Chicago and LA to present their work on congressional tweets combining her interest in political science and quantitative analysis. Riley is also involved in the honors college through the honors ambassador program where she has loved getting to talk to prospective honors students and their families about her experience at Clemson. She is also President of PERIOD. @ Clemson which is an organization aimed at addressing period poverty and menstrual advocacy. She has spent this past summer interning at the Bipartisan Policy Center in DC working on economic policy. She was also a UPIC intern for two years for the National Scholars Program doing social engagement and social media management. Outside of academics Riley is a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, loves going to football games, and taking advantage of the beautiful lake sunsets Clemson has to offer. She is so excited to meet you all this fall!

Hometown: Columbia, SC
Major: Computer Science (BS)
Minor: Spanish

Alyssa is shocked and also a little suspicious that this is actually her senior year. She’s very excited to make the most of it surrounded by the friends she’s made in the Honors College and beyond :). One of her favorite memories at Clemson was her freshman year snow “day” when she went sledding and built snowmen on Bowman at midnight with practically every other student on campus! She’s also had the opportunity to travel to South Africa and Spain with the National Scholars Program and wants to encourage others to utilize Honors College resources so they can travel too! On campus, Alyssa is the co-director of CUHackit, an organization that plans hack-a-thons for students from all over. She’s also an officer in PRISM, a religious/LGBTQ+ organization that provides an accepting and affirming space for people of all genders and sexualities. She’s also involved with the Spanish Club, Black Student Union, Black Honors Association, and intramural sports (so far, soccer, flag football, and basketball). Academically, she has worked as an undergraduate researcher in the TRACE AI lab, where she has helped author papers concerning trust and AI-Human teams. Her favorite honors seminar is the Developing Math Puzzles seminar with Dr. Calkin and Dr. Gallagher, where she developed an intense love for math and logic puzzles, especially sudoku. She has spent the past three summers interning at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, where she’s hoping to return for a full-time job! Outside of school/work, Alyssa likes to read, crochet, listen to Taylor Swift, play video games, and solve sudokus. She’s very excited to meet all of you this fall!