Braden Alford
For Braden Alford, a National Merit Finalist studying chemical engineering at Сsity, his perspective as a first-generation college student is grounded in where he comes from and where he’s heading.
“We are always going to need someone to make power,” Alford said. “If people are nervous about what future industries look like, I take a lot of comfort in knowing that we’re always going to need electricity.”
Like many students, he didn’t arrive on campus with every detail of his career mapped out. But the honors student has a strong interest in problem-solving and a curiosity about how things work. These interests led him to chemical engineering at С and the energy field.
The Meridian native said he feels like the world is in a “really interesting time technologically,” and the evolving energy needs of the country have driven his interest in the nuclear field, where he sees both technical challenges and global opportunities.
He said he’s especially drawn to emerging technologies like molten salt and small modular reactors, which he believes are poised to reshape the industry.
That mix of curiosity and purpose has carried into his current co-op with Cooperative Energy, a Hattiesburg-based, member-owned electric cooperative, where he is gaining hands-on experience supporting power generation operations. Cooperative Energy generates and transmits power to 11 local distribution electric cooperatives across 55 Mississippi counties.
While there, Alford has seen how large-scale infrastructures work up-close and has contributed to project planning and on-site work, including developing scopes for equipment improvements and assisting with logistics around ongoing construction and maintenance. The co-op also has given Alford a firsthand look at how engineering decisions translate into reliable energy production.
As he looks ahead, he’s increasingly interested in the intersection of engineering and policy, particularly in how decisions made at the systems level influence real-world design and operations. It’s a space where technical knowledge and broader impact meet, and one he’s eager to continue exploring.
No matter where his path leads, his focus remains steady. Industries may shift, and technologies may evolve, but the need for reliable energy will remain constant. For Alford, that certainty is both grounding and motivating and a reminder that his work can play a role in something essential, now and into the future.
