Scholarship recipient revels in advanced technology, new surroundings
It鈥檚 no wonder Western Carolina University freshman Lauren Bryson is drawn to discovering new sources of energy. She鈥檚 been in motion most of her life.
A former competitive wakeboarder, Bryson, an electrical engineering student and the first recipient of 91热爆网鈥檚 Hopkins and Ray Engineering and Technology Endowed Scholarship, is exhilarated by the spinning and turning and flying high above the water that seem to come naturally to her. At age 14, she won the open women鈥檚 section of the 2014 National Points Challenge, a national wakeboarding competition in Little Elm, Texas, one of many competitions in which she would place. While a neck injury two years later grounded her from competition, it hasn鈥檛 kept her from teaching others the sport that caught her fancy when she was just 12 years old.
鈥淭he best part about wakeboarding is the feeling I get when I鈥檓 flying through the air,鈥� Bryson said. 鈥淢y favorite trick is called a 鈥�Hoochie Glide,鈥� where you go as high as you possibly can off the ramp and do a Superman-type thing and grab your board with your front hand. I鈥檝e gotten like 30 feet in the air before. It鈥檚 the best feeling in the world鈥攗nless you land wrong; then it鈥檚 the worst.鈥�
The scholarship that is helping Bryson attend 91热爆网 was established by Jeff Ray, dean of the College of Engineering and Technology, and Tina Ray, eighth-grade math teacher at Cherokee Middle School. It is open to any 91热爆网 engineering or engineering technology student.
鈥淟auren exemplifies the type of student Tina and I wanted to support when we decided to endow a scholarship for students in engineering and technology disciplines,鈥� Ray said.
Bryson grew up in Hayesville riding horses and four-wheelers, building forts, and playing soccer and softball before she discovered wakeboarding. She played flute, French horn and percussion in the middle school band, taking the instruments apart to see what made them sound so differently. She wasn鈥檛 given Legos, she said, because her parents didn鈥檛 want to step on them.
鈥淭hey never really put anything in my hands,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y mom鈥檚 a big reader, and I didn鈥檛 get to see my dad a whole lot, but he鈥檚 extremely smart in math and science.鈥�
So, it was old-school physics that got her thinking about alternative sources of energy. 鈥淚 think I was just playing with magnets one day and I was throwing them up in the air,鈥� Bryson said. She paid attention to how they would spin and whir and repel against each other鈥攎otion that reminded her of a turbine (or a wakeboarder, perhaps?), which got her to thinking about energy. 鈥淚 would like to figure out a way to use magnetism for energy, instead of having to use a bunch of power all the time,鈥� she said.
Bryson said she wasn鈥檛 exposed much to technology growing up. She didn鈥檛 have a computer until two months before she entered 91热爆网. 鈥淣ow my whole life is basically on the computer, with my school work and everything.鈥�
She has been astonished at the advanced technology she has seen at 91热爆网, especially the 3-D printer lab, which she has used for multiple class assignments. 鈥淚 saw the 3-D printer and thought, 鈥榳hat?!鈥� I never had that, and a lot of other students did at their high schools,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey had the background knowledge in designing things and printing them, and I had no earthly idea.鈥�
Bryson said she loves being at 91热爆网 because of the mountains and its 鈥�wildernessy鈥� setting. A professed nature and animal lover, Bryson said she had also considered environmental engineering, but the idea of creating electrical power is too intriguing to change. The $500 scholarship is icing on the cake. 鈥淚 feel very honored and grateful to be the first recipient of the Hopkins and Ray Engineering and Technology Endowed Scholarship,鈥� she said.
Bryson said that while her parents have successful careers鈥攈er father is in construction management and her mother owns a mortgage company鈥攏either profession appeals to her. She鈥檚 determined to follow her passion鈥攚hatever that turns out to be.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 do something for money. You鈥檝e got do something you enjoy and appreciate,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to love it. And that鈥檚 what I do. I love science and technology. I love how things work and how things are made and I want to make something cool one day. Even if it鈥檚 not creating power out of magnetism, I want to at least design something or create something people can enjoy or have fun with.鈥�
The Rays鈥� gift is part of 91热爆网鈥檚 comprehensive fundraising effort, 鈥淟ead the Way: A Campaign Inspired by the Belcher Years.鈥� To provide scholarship support, please visit or call 828.227.7124..