Senior civil engineering major Jessica Lewis has built up an impressive resume during her time at Mississippi State University.
Adding to her growing list of accomplishments, Lewis has been named to the prestigious New Faces of Civil Engineering for 2021 list by the American Society of Civil Engineers. She is one of just 10 college students worldwide to be recognized.
The ASCE New Faces program highlights a select group of civil engineering leaders and recognizes their academic or professional accomplishments as well as their community engagement.
“I was so excited when I got the news,” Lewis said. “I recently received a state level recognition from the Mississippi Section of ASCE and receiving this national recognition gave me that same type of feeling all over again. I felt very appreciative of Dr. Isaac Howard, my advisor here at MSU, and Dr. Jennifer Sloan Ziegler from the Mississippi Section, for supporting and encouraging my application. At some level it is always surprising to receive national recognition, but I typically try to give my best effort on the things I do and let the process decide the rest.”
A native of New Orleans, Lewis was recently selected as the Civil Engineering Student of the Year by the Mississippi Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. She was also one of just two students statewide to earn the Shelly Brock Watson Student Scholarship.
Lewis was recently selected as one of just five college students from across the country to be named to the first class of Kirk Scholars by the Asphalt Institute Foundation. She was also awarded the Ergon Foundation Scholarship that is administered by the National Asphalt Pavement Association.
An undergraduate researcher in the Construction Materials Research Center, Lewis received the Undergraduate Pavements Researcher Award from MSU’s Richard A. Rula School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She has also been a member of IDEAL Woman, an all-female leadership and community service organization at Mississippi State that focuses on academic excellence, professional development, and community service.
“I have a strong desire to raise awareness about opportunities that younger students can take advantage of,” Lewis said. “I ultimately hope to use my platform that I am building here at MSU to inspire younger students to pursue higher education, and especially to show the younger female and minority students that they too can be successful in this field.”
Each year, the ASCE names its New Faces of Civil Engineering – 10 college students and 10 young professionals whose accomplishments mark them as the profession’s future stars. Lewis joins three previous Mississippi State honorees. Phong Ly was selected to the New Faces university list in 2019 while Sarah McEwen was named to the professionals list in 2018. Andrew Odenthal was named to the first-ever New Faces university list in 2012.
MSU’s Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube at @msuengineering.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Learn more about Jessica on Momentum, the BCoE’s monthly television show.