From Blue Ridge to Helene Recovery: Hannah Hedrick’s Journey in Engineering
Featured Photo: Left: Hannah Hedrick as an engineering student at Blue Ridge Community College. (Photo by: Rich Keen) Right: Hannah Hedrick in 2026 as an RK&K structures engineer.
By: Emily Thomas, Marketing & Communications Dept.
Hannah Hedrick is proof that you don’t need to travel far to achieve your dreams.
Before becoming an engineer, designing and inspecting bridges across the world and helping rebuild infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Helene, Hedrick was figuring out how to build her future in Western North Carolina.
Born and raised in Transylvania County, Hedrick’s first aha moment about her future path as an engineer happened in fourth grade, when she had to invent and design a product. She learned that almost every product we touch first existed in the mind of an engineer.
Later, Hedrick spent time helping her father build houses, learning to read blueprints and understand how things are constructed. From that point forward, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in STEM.
“I wanted to be able to make things better for people,” Hedrick said. “I wanted to make the world better. I wanted to make the world safer.”
Education that works
By high school, Hedrick had already started on her college degree at Blue Ridge Community College. She chose Blue Ridge because it was close to home and because family members had attended previously.
Although Hedrick knew STEM was the right pathway, she was unsure which direction to take. A Blue Ridge counselor introduced her to a field she had never heard of: mechatronics. Mechatronics combines mechanical systems, electronics, robotics, programming, and design.
In fact, it would be the Fanuc robot that sold Hedrick on the pathway.
“I said, ‘Yes, this is what I want to do,’” Hedrick said.
Hedrick enrolled in the mechatronics engineering program and eventually earned her associate degree. She also completed her Associate in Engineering at Blue Ridge and was part of one of the program’s first cohorts.
After graduating from Blue Ridge, Hedrick transferred to Western Carolina University through the 2 + 2 program, an agreement that allows students to enroll in the Associate in Engineering program at Blue Ridge and seamlessly transfer to one of the University of North Carolina System’s engineering programs.
“When we [my Blue Ridge classmates and I] walked into our classes at Western, we were very well prepared,” Hedrick said.
Hedrick graduated from Western Carolina University in 2020.
But she knew her studies weren’t over.
As she describes it, she had a little itch in her brain that told her she wasn’t quite finished. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Hedrick went on to complete her master’s in mechanical engineering online from NC State University.
From robotics to bridges
Hedrick’s first job after college was as a robotic technician for a local manufacturer.
Many of the skills Hedrick learned at Blue Ridge were skills she needed for the role. After about a year, she wanted to explore something new.
She found a job posting for a junior design engineer at a pedestrian bridge manufacturer. Hedrick didn’t know much about designing bridges, but she was willing to learn. Hedrick landed the job and quickly discovered something she hadn’t expected; she loved bridges.
During her time as a bridge engineer, Hedrick designed more than 160 steel and aluminum pedestrian bridges. Her work can be found across 27 states and three countries, including Canada and St. Kitts.
Today, Hedrick works for RK&K, where her duties include bridge design, construction, and inspection. The company is actively involved in building and inspecting bridges within the Chimney Rock and Bat Cave areas, which were hit particularly hard by Helene.
Building back Western North Carolina
When Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina, it caused more than 2,000 landslides and damaged more than 6,000 state-maintained roads, along with nearly 10,000 individual sites that were reported as damaged. Over 73,000 homes were either leveled or damaged.
It was the fifth-costliest Atlantic hurricane on record, causing an estimated $60 billion in damage.
Engineers like Hannah Hedrick, and those in supporting roles, are in high demand. Even before Helene, engineering was projected to exceed the state’s average annual growth rate for all occupational groups.
There are approximately 250 civil engineering, environmental, and surveying firms in the 23-county Western North Carolina region.
The region’s continued recovery depends on a steady supply of skilled workers across critical industries, including engineering, manufacturing, healthcare, and skilled trades. More importantly, these jobs aren’t just filling a need, they’re providing opportunities for a more prosperous future for the region and its residents.
If you ask Hedrick what’s most rewarding about her job, she’ll tell you it’s about rebuilding structures for her region – her home.
“I’m helping rebuild what was taken away,” she said. “There’s something about building a structure that is hopefully going to withstand the next storm, but it’s also something that becomes part of your community, something that everyone rallies around.”
And perhaps, most fittingly, she said, “It’s being part of something that is going to outlive me.”
Information about all engineering pathways at Blue Ridge Community College can be found online at www.blueridge.edu/engineering.
Related story: Blue Ridge Community College highlights role in Good Jobs WNC and continued Helene recovery during national summit
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