When Cameron Nelson graduated from Bridgeport High School in 2012 and headed to the University of South Carolina in Columbia, among the least of his worries was the weather. In fact, Nelson was heading from an area where one of the concerns was always winter woes and that would be a thing of the past.

 

“In West Virginia you don’t think about tornados or things like that. You just get those heavy snows so when I came down here to school, I figured weather would no longer be an issue,” said Nelson, who is studying economics. “For the most part that’s been the case until last week.”

 

Although it started a little before last week, the impact of weather that Nelson and all of those living in and around a path of rain spun off by Hurricane Joaquin would be tremendous. In fact, more than double digit days later it is still being felt.

 

The numbers may vary, but Columbia South Carolina received nearly 13 inches of rain over the course of just a few days. The results have been catastrophic. Ironically, Nelson said he and his roommates actually slept through most of the heaviest rain.

 

"There was a Carolina football game and a few other games on Saturday night and there was a steady rain, but it wasn’t anything alarming. We weren’t too worried because we were told the hurricane would miss us,” said Nelson.

 

And it did. The remnants of it did not. When Nelson woke up early Sunday morning he knew something was wrong.

 

“I woke up with 75 notifications on my phone from every type of App that I have,” said Nelson, who said the heaviest rains came down that morning between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. where it was raining at more than an inch per hour. “Flood threats, high water warnings, torrential rain warnings … you name it and it was on there. I woke my roommates up and asked them if they had seen anything or heard about it. It was then we began to take it all in.”

 

For Nelson, the love of water is a natural. He was a long-time swimmer in Bridgeport, including spending plenty of time in the pool for the BHS Indians. Yet, there was nothing to love about what he saw in person and what he was seeing in reports in the media in places that he wasn’t somewhat familiar with, but extremely familiar and close with.

 

“I live about a two-minute drive from campus, but the places that were leveled were places we all knew,” said Nelson, who said the area where he lived was not directly impacted by flooding. “A half a mile from where I live you had places 15 feet in water. There were areas that were just wiped out. The whole thing was hard to take, but it got surreal.”

 

While Nelson’s new social circle was safe, he wasn’t too far removed from tragedy. He said a good friend of one of his good friends was among those that died.

 

“That takes it mentally to a different level. You don’t think anything like this can happen and then it happens in your backyard and it impacts people you know and it becomes a different story,” said Nelson. “Then, you try to figure out if there’s anything you can do.”

 

The 21-year-old then did what came as instinctively as diving into the pool at the Bridgeport City Pool. He tried to find out if he could volunteer to help in any manner possible and found out that he could. For Nelson, the son of Kelly and Debra Nelson, it was second nature to get involved and help as opposed to standing back and watching.

 

“My parents made sure I helped others because we were fortunate. It started with me working with the Medbrook Children’s Charity,” said the 21-year-old Nelson. “When you’re young and you see what helping out can mean to others you learn a lot about the fragile nature of life and why you shouldn’t take it for granted.”

The Children’s Charity was started by his father Kelly with plenty of assistance from mom. The charity, spearheaded almost singlehandedly by a massive annual golf tournament, has raised more than a $1 million for various programs that assist underprivileged children in the local school system. And his parents made sure he was involved.

 

Today, at this moment, and in the days ahead, Cameron Nelson will be working with friends and strangers to try and help individuals he’s never met and may never meet. And that’s the way he knows it needs to be.

 

“You see things like this on television, but until you are here and seeing people go through it you can’t understand. You can’t replicate a disaster or the feelings of it with a video. It’s a type of emotion you can’t explain when it’s staring you in the face,” said Nelson. “This will have an impact on me the rest of my life. I just hope I’m able to help in some small way.”

 

He is helping. He’s doing what his family has always done –helping those in need.

 

It’s a family trait. It’s one he got from West Virginia. And one he’s using it in South Carolina.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Cameron Nelson with his girlfriend Gabby Pierce at a South Carolina vs. Kentucky football game, while the middle photos - provided by Nelson - are of flood damage in his area. In the bottom photo is one of the most giving families in Bridgeport and the state shown at last year's graduation ceremony for Cameron's - far right - younger brother Connor. Parents Kelly and Debra Nelson are also pictured.