Graduation Spotlight: Stephens' love of problem solving leads him to engineering, math majors
Kim Chaudoin |
Jackson Stephens, right, helped lead Lipscomb's concrete canoe team to four consecutive regional championships and national competition appearances.
From building award-winning concrete canoes to mentoring future student engineers, Jackson Stephens has left a lasting impact on Lipscomb University’s Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering. This May, Stephens graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree, earning a double major in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics.
Jackson Stephens
A natural builder and problem-solver, Stephens was naturally drawn to study engineering.
“I love building things,” said Stephens, of Chesapeake, Ohio. “Being able to idealize something and solve as many problems as I can think of before they happen is really fun. And having a finished product that I can see and touch at the end of a long process is incredibly rewarding.”
That passion found its outlet as part of Lipscomb’s concrete canoe team, where Stephens was the only mechanical engineering student when he joined as a freshman. Over the next four years, he helped transform the team’s performance and culture—introducing 3D printing into the design process, serving as project manager his junior year, mentoring others as a senior, and playing a key role in four consecutive regional championships and national competition appearances. The most recent was this April as Stephens’ concrete canoe team competed in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Mid-South Student Symposium competition and placed first overall.
“I’ve probably spent over 1,000 cumulative hours working on concrete canoes,” Stephens said. “It’s been incredibly rewarding to have finished products—especially when they’ve been successful. It’s also been amazing to see the team grow as new members joined each year.”
In addition to his work on the canoe team, Stephens served as president of Lipscomb’s chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society. He is widely recognized by faculty and peers as a unifying presence in the College of Engineering, someone who turned a virtual pre-college experience at Summer Scholars the summer before his freshman year into a real-life network of friends and collaborators.
“I wouldn’t trade anything for my closest friends and roommates,” he said. “Our professors consistently make sacrifices for the betterment of their students, and I appreciate everything they’ve done for my and my classmates’ success.”
When choosing to attend Lipscomb, Stephens followed in the footsteps of his parents, Jason (’93) and Juli (Brazzell ’94), and his brothers Sawyer (’17) and Wesley (’20), who is an undergraduate admission counselor at the university. He said his experience at Lipscomb not only expanded his technical skills, but also shaped his character and faith.
“It’s been great to be in a community that places Christian faith at the center,” he said. “Even when people aren’t explicitly having faith conversations, you can tell what our priorities are. In our engineering classes, what we learn is presented as a tool to help people — not just a statistic or equation. I’ve learned practical ways to further God’s mission and love with my life at home, work, and everywhere else.”
Stephens will carry that perspective with him as he begins his professional career at DSM Engineering in Franklin after he returns from a mission trip to Honduras with Lipscomb’s Peugeot Center for Engineering Service in Developing Communities in May.
“I’ve loved my time at Lipscomb. I’ve gained countless skills in the classroom and through projects outside of class,” he said. “I wouldn’t change a single thing about my time here. I’ve loved and learned from every experience I’ve had and every person I’ve met.”