It’s not just a bridge; it’s something that serves an entire community.

– Brady Hurd

For South Carolina Honors College sophomore Brady Hurd, inspiration did not come from a classroom or a textbook: it came from a bridge. 

Growing up in the Charleston suburb of Goose Creek, South Carolina, Hurd regularly saw the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, a defining feature of the Lowcountry skyline. For most people, it’s just a landmark. But for Hurd, it was the spark of a passion that would shape his future. 

Hurd remembers the first time the bridge captured his attention. As a kindergartener, he looked out over the water and was taken in by the sheer size of the bridge. But it was a later visit that stuck with him. 

“I remember seeing a container ship go underneath it and thinking, that is crazy,” Hurd says. “How can something be so tall and still carry all this traffic at the same time?” 

That question and moment of curiosity never left him. 

Not long after, Hurd turned his curiosity to action when he asked his father if they could build a model of the bridge. Over several weeks, the two worked together using basic materials to construct a large wooden replica, an early hands-on experience that quickly became something more meaningful. 

“I saw how you start with just pieces and build it up into something complete,” Hurd says. “After that, I knew I wanted to do this for a living.” 

As he grew older, that interest only expanded. Whether creating structures in his backyard workshop or even building highway interchanges in the sand at the beach, Hurd found himself constantly drawn to designing and building. By high school, choosing civil engineering felt like a natural decision. 

“Anytime I saw construction, I just thought it was the coolest thing – how you can turn dirt into something people can use every day,” Hurd says. 

Now a sophomore at the University of South Carolina, Hurd is turning his lifelong interest into a career path by studying civil engineering with a focus on structural design. What started as an early fascination with the Ravenel Bridge has evolved into a deeper understanding of infrastructure and its impact on communities. 

“People drive over bridges every day without thinking about them,” Hurd says. “And that’s a good thing because it means everything is working the way it should.” 

That perspective led him to revisit the project that started it all.

Ahead of his freshman year, Hurd built a second model of the Ravenel Bridge, this time independently and with a stronger understanding of engineering principles. He later submitted the model to the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing’s STEMart event this past April. 

“I wanted to rebuild it because I understood so much more about what it represents,” Hurd says. “It’s not just a bridge; it’s something that serves an entire community.” 

The actual Ravenel Bridge reflects many of the qualities that Hurd admires in civil engineering. Completed in 2005, it replaced the outdated Cooper River Bridges, which opened in 1928 and 1966, respectively, and transformed transportation in the Charleston area. The bridge’s design allows it to withstand environmental forces while supporting both heavy traffic and massive container ships passing underneath it. 

Through his coursework, Hurd is beginning to understand the complexity behind structures like the Ravenel Bridge, from load distribution to environmental impact. That learning has been further shaped by mentorship from faculty, including Professor and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Chair Juan Caicedo. 

“Brady has tremendous potential as a civil engineer focusing on structures,” Caicedo says. “I’m looking forward to following his success both in school and professionally.” 

Looking ahead, Hurd hopes to pursue a career in structural engineering, focusing on bridge design and infrastructure improvement. As communities across South Carolina face aging systems, he sees an opportunity to make a meaningful impact. 

And his present and future career aspirations can be traced back to that one moment of wonder. 

“It really started everything for me,” Hurd said. “That bridge showed me what engineering could be.” 

For Hurd, the Ravenel Bridge is no longer a childhood memory. It’s a symbol of where he started and where he’s headed next.