L.I. Smith & Associates, Inc. (LIS) has expanded its Campus Leadership Network with the signing of its first Campus Ambassador, Lee Hayes, a Paris, Tennessee native and civil engineering student at Mississippi State University.

The signing took place Monday, September 14, on the campus of Mississippi State University and marks another milestone in LIS’s continued investment in students, emerging professionals, and the next generation of leaders within the engineering and surveying industries.

Hayes, a graduate of Henry County High School, began his studies at Mississippi State in August 2023 and is currently a senior pursuing a degree in civil engineering.

The Campus Ambassador program is part of the broader LIS Campus Leadership Network, an initiative created to build meaningful relationships with students before they enter the professional workforce. The network includes both NIL student-athlete partnerships and Campus Ambassadors, giving LIS the opportunity to connect with students from a variety of backgrounds who demonstrate leadership, initiative, professionalism, and a desire to grow.

Through the program, LIS aims to create a stronger connection between the classroom and the professional world by introducing students to career opportunities, industry professionals, mentorship, internships, and the many career paths available within engineering, surveying, construction, and related fields.

For LIS, the program represents a long-term investment in people.

“We believe developing the next generation of professionals starts well before graduation,” said Patrick Smith, President of L.I. Smith & Associates. “There is tremendous value in building relationships with students while they are still learning, exploring career paths, and developing as leaders. Our goal is to give them exposure to the profession, provide meaningful connections, and help create opportunities that can shape their careers.”

Hayes’ signing also carries a special connection for LIS.

Smith is a Mississippi State alumnus, having graduated from the university in 1998 with a degree in civil engineering. Since that time, he has built his career in engineering and surveying and now leads LIS, a multidisciplinary firm serving clients throughout Tennessee and across the Central and Southeastern United States.

That shared connection to Mississippi State made the university a natural place for LIS to continue growing the Campus Leadership Network.

As a Campus Ambassador, Hayes will help represent LIS within the Mississippi State community while gaining increased exposure to the professional engineering and surveying industry. The partnership will also provide opportunities for Hayes to engage with LIS leadership, learn more about the firm’s projects and services, and help introduce fellow students to career and internship opportunities within the company.

The addition of Campus Ambassadors represents the next phase of the LIS Campus Leadership Network.

The initiative began with student-athlete NIL partnerships but was intentionally designed to extend beyond athletics. By incorporating Campus Ambassadors, LIS can identify and support students based on their leadership qualities, professional interests, character, and potential, regardless of whether they compete in collegiate athletics.

For a profession facing an increasing need to recruit and develop skilled engineers, surveyors, technicians, and field professionals, LIS sees early engagement as an important part of building a stronger workforce.

Rather than waiting until students are nearing graduation to begin recruiting, LIS hopes to establish genuine relationships throughout their college careers.

“Our responsibility as an established company is not only to think about where our profession is today, but where it will be 10, 20, and 30 years from now,” Smith said. “That means investing our time and resources into young professionals now. If we can help students develop professionally, introduce them to opportunities, and encourage talented people to stay and build their careers in this industry, that benefits everyone.”

Hayes is the first Campus Ambassador signed through the program, and LIS plans to continue developing the Campus Leadership Network at Mississippi State and other colleges and universities throughout the region.

The initiative reflects the company’s broader commitment to workforce development, mentorship, education, and creating opportunities for young professionals throughout the communities LIS serves.

L.I. Smith & Associates (LIS) has expanded its drone fleet with the addition of the Freefly Astro, an American-made drone built for advanced aerial surveying, mapping, laser scanning, and high-resolution photography.

Equipped with a GeoCue TrueView 641 LiDAR sensor, the Astro gives our team the ability to collect highly detailed data across large project sites from the air. Depending on site conditions, the system can survey and map up to 400 acres in a single day, making it especially valuable on large, complex, or difficult-to-access properties.

LiDAR is a laser-based technology that measures the ground from the air and creates a highly detailed 3D map of a site. As the drone flies, the system sends out laser pulses and measures how they return, allowing our surveyors to capture terrain, structures, roadways, stockpiles, drainage features, vegetation, and other existing conditions.

The TrueView 641 also features RTK, or Real-Time Kinematic, technology, which improves the drone’s GPS positioning while it is flying. This helps increase the accuracy of the data being collected and, under appropriate project conditions, allows LIS to achieve aerial mapping accuracy approaching 0.03 feet, or roughly one-third of an inch.

That combination of speed and accuracy gives LIS another valuable tool for topographic mapping, construction progress surveys, earthwork and stockpile quantities, existing-condition documentation, 3D modeling, and large-scale site mapping.

The Astro can also be equipped with an LR1 camera for high-resolution aerial photography. In addition to survey data, our team can capture detailed site imagery, high-resolution aerial maps, construction progress photos, and visual documentation that gives clients a clear view of how a project is developing over time.

Another major advantage of the Astro is its NDAA compliance and Blue UAS approval. In simple terms, the platform meets federal security and sourcing requirements, making it eligible for use on many government, infrastructure, and other security-sensitive project sites where non-compliant drones may not be permitted.

For LIS, the value of the Astro is its versatility. One platform can support precise laser scanning, high-resolution photography, large-area mapping, progress documentation, and detailed site analysis. It also allows our teams to collect a large amount of information more efficiently while reducing the amount of time crews may need to spend moving through difficult terrain or active construction areas.