Meet the Winners of the 2022 SOPREMA Scholarship

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter.  

The future is bright! Learn about the four students that received SOPREMA's $20,000 in scholarships.  

To support industry growth, SOPREMA offers four students a $5,000 scholarship a year to pursue degrees in engineering, architecture, construction management or a similar building envelope field.   

Scholarships are awarded based on academic record, honors, work experience, demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities, and an online essay. Financial need is not considered when awarding scholarships.   

Congratulations to these students receiving the 2022 SOPREMA scholarship:   

Francisca (Franny) Anunobi  

Franny majors in Mechanical Engineering at Saint Martin's University and is expected to graduate in 2023. This summer, she will work with the U.S. Department of Energy as a summer intern in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (Water Power Technologies Office).   

She feels her career track is at the ultimate intersection between her passion for energy production and management and her desire to approach problem-solving through engineering design.    

"My primary goal as a future engineer is to create products and processes that are sustainable, innovative, and efficient," Franny says. "I am most fulfilled by work that has direct positive impacts on communities, so I am also hopeful that I will be able to integrate a community-driven perspective into my work."  

Ian Doherty   

Ian majors in Engineering at Michigan State University. Ian learned about this career through his father's work as a materials engineer. Many opportunities across so many disciplines make this major a natural choice since math and science also appeal to him.  

"People across the world need help that engineers can provide," Ian says. "I look forward to designing things to help improve everyday life for people."  

Erika Clinard  

Erika will be studying Civil Engineering at Clemson University come next school year. She looks forward to enhancing building infrastructure and being able to pursue math and physics on a college level.  

 "To me, being an engineer isn't just about building things," Erika says. "It is about contributing to our society."  

Rhett Tinklenberg  

Rhett majors in Construction Management at South Dakota State University. He works for a commercial construction company, Puetz Design + Build, as a Superintendent Intern  While shadowing a project manager, he has learned how to do submittals, cost variance, takeoff estimating, and some project management skills.  

Rhett grew up around construction, watching his dad run his roofing company. He loves the skill it takes to design and construct a building successfully.  Rhett looks forward to completing projects by applying everything he has learned in his internships and school.  

"I am excited to be able to give back to students like me, as I know how much scholarships have impacted me positively throughout my college career," Rhett says. "Many people don't realize the fulfillment of working in the construction industry. Not only do you get to build buildings and see a project from start to finish under your management, but it also pays extremely well. We all know that the construction industry is always booming."  

Congratulations to these students for earning a scholarship! We can't wait to see what their future brings and the value they will bring to the industry.  

Learn more by visiting the scholarship page. The application program will be available again at the end of the summer of 2022 for the 2023-2024 school year.  

Learn more about SOPREMA in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit soprema.us.