Hermanson’s TAB Field Engineer, Soph Davenberry, will graduate this month with her Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the Sustainable Building Science Technology (SBST) program at South Seattle College. The combination of her dedication to her academics, the SBST program, and her collaboration with her fellow students has earned her two prestigious honors: the SBST Outstanding Student of the Year award and the President’s Medal, awarded only to one Bachelor and one Transfer student each year.

“When I think of ‘outstanding student,’ it was easy to call Soph Davenberry to mind. Not only is she outstanding academically, but she is a credit to her field and her community. Soph came from the sheet metal trades as an underrepresented person and excelled despite challenges. Specializing in testing, adjusting, and balancing HVAC systems (aka TAB), Soph has continued to advance professionally, even while in the program. Another characteristic that I particularly benefited from (as faculty) was her ability and willingness to help other students, whether that was to explain complicated concepts, assist with technical needs, or to provide quality feedback to other students' projects and ideas. Soph even led a session for the Sustainable Building Science Technology BAS program on testing, adjusting, and balancing HVAC systems. In addition, she often aligned her coursework to serve projects in her community, helping her local church improve the energy efficiency of its building as well as providing informed advice to the building committee about sustainable operations. Finally, one of the characteristics I appreciate most about Soph is her ability to understand systems-thinking, taking the long view and continuing to make connections between seemingly disparate ideas, a necessary skill in true sustainability work that is still somehow pretty rare,” comments Alison Pugh, MBA, faculty member at South Seattle College – Georgetown Campus.

The SBST program at South Seattle College prepares students to apply expertise and systems knowledge to support highly technical building operations. In May of 2017, Hermanson Company’s founder, Jerry Hermanson, was recognized for his support of South Seattle College with the dedication of the Hermanson Sustainable Building Science Technology Center at their Georgetown campus. The SBST degree, which builds on students’ prior education and work experience, positions its graduates to launch careers where they understand building functions and finance in order to manage structures that are healthier and more durable, efficient, economical, and sustainable. More details can be found at South Seattle College’s website: http://www.southseattle.edu/programs/bas/sustainable-building-science-technology/Default.aspx

Hermanson Company is very proud of Soph and her accomplishments as SSCC! Congratulations, Soph!

If you have some news about a Hermanson employee you would like to share, please send your tip to marketingdepartment@hermanson.com!