The Foundation of the Wall and Ceiling
Industry has awarded scholarships to Jennifer
LaFever, Sheri Lynn Strattan and
Jonathan Wies, to help them further their
education in a construction related curriculum.
Both Stratum and Wies have
won the scholarship for a second time.
Each has already received a $750 grant
toward tuition costs for the fall 2001 semester.
By maintaining an acceptable
grade point average and a full-time course
schedule, they will receive up to three
more $750 grants for their next semesters
of study, provided they maintain good
grades and a good academic standing.
The scholarships are given only to students
pursuing a post-high school education
in construction management, engineering
or architecture. Applicants must
be direct dependents of someone who
works for an AWCI member company
or be employed directly by an AWCI
member company.
Selection criteria include a combination
of grades, extracurricular activities, references
and employment history. Members
of the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee
review the applications and select
the winner. The winners are announced
at the AWCI convention, in the spring.
Meet the Winners
LaFever lives in Hollister, Calif. She is the
daughter of John LaFever and Michele
McDonald, who is an estimator and project
manager for Culberson Drywall of
Mt. View, Calif. She is studying engineering
at the University of California, Davis.
Strattan lives in Cheboygan, Mich., and
is the daughter of Gordie Strattan and
Laurie Strattan. Gordie is a carpenter with
Bouma Corporation, Grand Rapids,
Mich. She is a junior studying architectural
illustration at Lawrence Technological
University in Southfield, Mich.
Wies lives in Wentzville, Mo., and is the
son of Terry and Versy Wies. Terry is president
of Wies Drywall and Construction
Corporation of St. Louis, MO. He is a
junior studying engineering management
at the University of Missouri-Rolla.
What They Would Build
As part of the application process, applicants
answer an essay question about
what they would build, renovate, design
or engineer if they had an infinite budget
and resources. Here’s what they said.
A Youth Center. LaFever would build a
youth center in the Silicon Valley. The
building’s exterior would resemble a cathedral,
and she would use Italian marble
over a metal stud frame. The building
would have 25-foot oak doors and stained
Meet the Winners glass windows. The foyer’s walls, ceiling
and floor would be made of stainless steel.
The interior would look abstract, moderern and futuristic, and contain recording
studios, a kitchen, a prayer room, a media
room and a library There also would be
a rotating stage made of metal studs and
plywood. The stage’s floor would have a
texture that could be changed to one of
four settings with the flip of a switch.
An athletic area behind th stage would
feature odd-shaped overhangs on each
door and a round wall made with metal
track. The walls would have a bubble effect
made by taking a plunger to a thin What’s New for 2002
layer of mud on the walls.
The Policeman’s Memorial. Strattan’s
project would be a Policeman’s Memorial.
The structure would host offices, classrooms,
a reading and research room and
restrooms. The exterior walls of the
memorial would be made of precast concrete
slabs containing a high gypsum mix,
which would make the building a bright
white. The roof would be made of soldered
zinc.
A bubble-like glass chapel made entirely
of clear glass-including the floor, walls
and seats. Strattan believes the transparency
provided by the glass would make
people experience a feeling of fear and
risk, just like a police officer might feel in
the line of duty.
Rekindling Jazz in St. Louis. Wies would
renovate the Savvis Center (formerly the
Kiel Center, which replaced the Kiel Auditorium
and Kiel Opera House in 1992)
in St. Louis, making it a jazz museum.
The opera house’s facade would be preserved,
but the interior would be demolished
and renovated. The floor would be
covered with burgundy carpet, and glass
cases filled with jazz memorabilia would
line the walls. Double-sided cases would
be used in the theater area as partitions.
The museum would be lighted with large
fluorescent lamps hung from the ceiling,
and track lighting would be used to accent
the display cases. AU the walls would
be half-inch drywall on steel studs.
Replacing the opera house’s stage would
be a small, wooden dance floor in front
of a replica of a swing orchestra. Atmosphere
would be provided by a speaker system extending throughout the facility
that softly plays many types of jazz.
What’s New for 2002
The Foundation’s scholarship program continues to evolve.
For the first time, instead of awarding scholarships to several deserving students, this year one lucky scholar will receive a $10,000 scholarship.
The first portion of the scholarship
will be distributed in time for the fall
2002 semester.
Contact the Foundation at (703) 538-1615 to receive an application, or visit
– www.awci.org for more information. The application deadline is Feb. 15, 2002.
