Memorial scholarship fund names winners
by Stephanie Basalyga

Kyle Izatt is a winner. Again.

The Central Washington State University student first received a scholarship from the Forrest L. Schweiger Memorial Scholarship Fund in 2000, when he was a freshman beginning his push for a degree in construction management.

This year, he is one of 13 current and future college students who have been named 2002 winners of scholarships from the fund, which was created in memory of a 26-year-old construction worker who was killed in a 1999 accident at a Portland job site.

The fund was created by Advanced American Diving Service, Inc., an Oregon City company, where Schweiger worked at the time of his death. His connection to the company ran deep, stretching back to the days when he was a 12-year-old boy sweeping floors and hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father, Konrad, who is one of the company's founders.

His family ties didn't buy him a free ride with the company, however. "He knew we weren't going to hand anything to him," Dee Burch, a company partner, told the Daily Journal of Commerce in a previous interview. "I think he felt he had to work twice as hard as everyone else to prove himself."

Schweiger was well on his way to earning that respect when he died while working on a company project on the Columbia River. Shortly afterward, Advanced American Diving decided to honor his memory by creating a fund to provide scholarship opportunities for young people interested in entering the building industry.

The company invested $100,000 in seed money in the fund, with the goal of providing four scholarships in 2000. Contributions flooded in faster than expected, however, allowing the fund to provide 10 scholarships totaling $25,000 for the first year.

Since then, the popularity of the scholarship fund has grown as word has spread. This year the fund received 37 applications, said Scott Burgess, who currently is handling public relations for the scholarship fund. From that pool, 13 final winners were selected, with award amounts based, in part, on financial need demonstrated by applicants.

Three of the recipients - John Seevers, Taralyn Ottley and Matthew Michaels - are first time winners of fund scholarships.

• Seevers of Corvallis was awarded a $2,000 scholarship to pursue a graduate degree in construction engineering at Oregon State University. He holds a bachelor's degree in food science and technology.
• Ottley is a senior at McMinnville High School. She plans to use her $1,500 scholarship to pursue a construction industry-related degree at the University of Utah.
• Michaels, a senior at Henley High School in Klamath Falls, received a $1,500 scholarship to obtain certification as an air conditioning, refrigeration and heating technician from Universal Technical Institute.

• Izatt, the Central Washington University sophomore, will use his current award of $1,500 to work toward his goal of using his college degree to eventually open his own construction company.
  
• OSU junior Andre Chernishov's new $3,000 award will help him continue pursuing a degree in civil engineering.
  
• Oregon City's Corey Westermann, a sophomore at OSU, will use a $2,000 award to pursue a degree in engineering, with plans to major in civil or mechanical engineering.
  
• Jeff Larson of Banks was awarded $2,000 toward pursuit of a degree in engineering at OSU, where he is a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering.
  
• Erin Courter, a junior at California Polytechnic State University in Paso Robles, will use her $2,000 scholarship toward a degree in civil engineering.
  
• West Linn's Greg Tomic received a $2,000 scholarship to use toward a degree in construction engineering management at OSU, where he is a sophomore.
  
• Cruz Salgado of Woodburn, a freshman at Chemeketa Community College, will use a $2,000 award to pursue a degree in architecture or civil engineering.
  
• Jason Jones of Pullman, Wash. received a $1,500 scholarship, which he plans to use at Washington State University. He is in the fourth-year of a five-year program and is pursuing dual degrees in construction management and business administration.
  
• Canby's Kati Sprague, an OSU freshman, received $1,500 to pursue dual degrees in construction engineering management and business administration.
  
• Jake Duyck, an Eastern Oregon University junior from Cornelius, received a $1,500 award toward his degree in physics, which he plans to piggyback with an eventual masters in engineering.

Stephanie covers law, architecture, engineering and construction for the Daily Journal of Commerce. She can be reached by e-mail at stephanieb@djc-or.com or by phone at 503-221-3313.