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Over the past few years, thanks to Assistant Professor Emmeline Watson, Pella of Omaha and Lincoln has had several opportunities to support the students in the University of Nebraska at Lincoln’s College of Engineering’s Construction Management Program.
It began with an invitation from Prof. Watson to Pella’s Architectural Consultant, Hollie Schall, to lecture her Construction Administration Students about window installation. Since our branch has an expertise in commercial window installs, the lecture came as a valuable addition to their construction education.
The following year Prof. Watson reached out again, only this time the request was educational as well as material for the senior construction project to design and build 10 sheds. These sheds were to each have 1 door and 1 window and Pella was happy to offer a complete donation of these items. Along with the donation, Hollie Schall and Field Manager Andy Grzebielski lectured the students on window installations for this specific application.
After the designs were complete and the donated construction materials were coordinated, on the last weekend of the semester, the student gathered behind Kiewit Hall on a beautiful sunny spring day and built their sheds. It was a frenzy of saws, hammering, instruction from professional tradespeople, and construction materials walking by on shoulders to the 10 separate builds at various stages of finish. The students were eager to finish and many of them did on day one!
The sheds were completed and auctioned off to fund raise for the non-profit Bridge to Hope’s “Hope Village” (a tiny home development in Lincoln for housing people exiting the correctional system).
Message from Emmeline Watson
Message from Emmeline Watson, Assistant Professor of Practice at Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction:
“I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of you for your incredible support of the Sheds Project. Your contribution of materials and your partnership played a vital role in making this hands-on experience possible for our students.
Because of your generosity, our students were able to apply their classroom knowledge in a real-world setting—building fully functional sheds while learning valuable skills in teamwork, planning, and construction. Even more exciting, the project raised over $10,000 for Hope Village and was featured in both university and local news!
Please see the links below to the coverage:
We are truly grateful for your support of education and community impact. I look forward to continuing this collaboration in the future.”
Warm regards,
Emmeline Watson
Program Gallery
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- A directional wood sign built during the shed building portion of Construction Management student’s Vertical Engineering class. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- Construction Management students working on sheds for their Vertical Engineering class outside Kiewit Hall. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- An overview of the shed building for Construction Management’s Vertical Construction class. The sheds will be auctioned off and the proceeds donated to Hope Village. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- A directional wood sign built during the shed building portion of Construction Management student’s Vertical Engineering class. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- Senior Construction Management major, Joe Kearney, works on the frame of his group’s shed for the shed building portion of his Vertical Construction class outside Kiewit Hall. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- Senior, Jaeda Jeffries, holds a plank of wood onto the shed’s frame as she works on her group’s shed for her Vertical Construction class outside Kiewit Hall. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- Carson Palmer, a sophomore Architectural Studies major, marks a piece of wood prior to cutting it during the shed building portion of his construction engineering class outside Kiewit Hall. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- Ashley Garrard, a junior Construction Management major, hammers into the roof of a shed outside Kiewit Hall. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- Eaden Holt, a junior Construction Management major, hands his nail gun to a fellow classmate of his Vertical Construction class as they’re building sheds. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- Senior Construction Management major, Joe Kearney, measures the frame of his group’s shed for the shed building portion of his Vertical Construction class outside Kiewit Hall. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
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- AJ Rodenbiker, a senior Construction Management major, works on a shed he’s building for his Vertical Construction class outside Kiewit Hall. May 9, 2025. Photo by Kristen Labadie / University Communication.
