Seven local students receive BIA scholarships

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The Building Futures Foundation awarded seven students with academic scholarships of $2,000 each at the Building Industry Association (BIA) of Clark County’s board meeting on June 12. The following students were honored:

Christopher Barnes is a commercial HVAC installer looking to better his life. He has over five years of experience working in the field and is going back to school, starting with Clark College, to take his career to the next level. He enjoys using mathematical procedures on a daily basis. Chris is looking forward to taking his real-life construction experience and applying it to a mechanical engineering career path. On the job he often hears tradesman complaining about installing systems that were designed by engineers with no field experience. Chris wants to bridge that gap. When he’s not at work Chris enjoys working out, boxing, and helping his family.

Kyle Brabec recently graduated from Hockinson High School. Some achievements of his include Associated Student Body Treasurer, National Honor Society Secretary, and winning the state championship in football in his senior year. In the fall he will be attending George Fox University where he will continue football while majoring in business management with a minor in entrepreneurship. Kyle intends to become a commercial developer and multifamily builder.

Caden Hiebert is graduating with honors from Hudson’s Bay High School. He is a member of the National Honor Society and of the Bay ACE’s Magnet. He has been active in track, cross country and school leadership. Throughout his high school career he has focused on Advanced Placement engineering, physics and math classes. This year he has had the opportunity to build a modular pop-up homeless shelter with two other Bay students. They placed among the top five teams for Washington state in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow contest. Caden is looking forward to attending the University of Washington in the fall with an intent to major in Mechanical Engineering.

Hunter Lindberg is entering his second year at Washington State University Vancouver, where he is studying to be a mechanical engineer. He plans to get a degree at WSUV and seek a career locally where he can make a difference in the community where he was raised. Hunter volunteers at Rocksolid Community Teen Center as a mentor when his school and work schedule allow.



Aisha Marcos is a Washougal High School graduate and will start her third year at Washington State University this fall. She has been accepted into the School of Design and Construction’s Architecture program and is working toward a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture, while pursuing a minor in Construction Management. Upon graduation, she intends to transition immediately into the accelerated Master’s architecture program.

Whitley Seter is a 2018 La Center High School/Clark College Running Start student, graduating with a 3.93 GPA. In high school Whitley participated in varsity soccer, and varsity basketball as team captain, National Honor Society, and FBLA. She was a basketball mentor to elementary and middle school players. Whitley will attend Washington State University to study under their construction and design program with a double major in business. One day Whitley hopes to have her own design firm. 

Erin Trantham graduated from Cedar Tree Classical Christian School and is excited to start something new. She is moving to Texas to study Electrical Engineering at Letourneau University. In addition to loving math and science, Erin is a classically trained ballet dancer and her time outside of school is evenly split between tutoring younger math students and teaching her love for the arts.

The Building Futures Foundation, a nonprofit extension of the BIA, has promoted education, student scholarships and environmentally sensitive building practices in the construction industry since 2002.