Paschen Hosts 4th Annual PIE Series at Westinghouse College Prep

F.H. Paschen hosted its 4th Annual P.I.E. (Paschen: Innovations in Engineering) Series event at George Westinghouse College Prep School, where we introduced the Paschen Scholars program to a new set of interested candidates and discussed the field of engineering and how it applies to careers in construction. 

Ryan Kinney of Westinghouse opened the event and Antonia Winfrey of Paschen gave an overview of the day. Joe Scarpelli gave a presentation on the history of F.H. Paschen and background on the vast array of projects the company has completed.  

The presentation this year consisted of a question and answer panel featuring four Paschen employees. The panelists, a Project Engineer, Project Manager, Project Superintendent and Vice President spoke with a grand total of over 100 years of construction experience. Westinghouse students and parents were engaged and asked incredibly thoughtful questions. 

Then, of course, we had pie! 

Paschen is proud of our relationship with Westinghouse, and we are looking forward to welcoming the next group of Paschen Scholars into the program. 

To learn more about the Paschen Scholars program, click here. 

The Paschen Scholars made their second visit to the 41st Street Pedestrian Bridge construction site. When the Scholars visited last, they met with our Project Manager and Project Engineer to review the plans and walk the site containing only our trailers.

Since that time, steel has been erected, a temporary bridge was built and much progress has been made. The Scholars were given a tour of the site and were prepared with many questions for our Project Manager. The questions ranged from the amount of RFI’s on the project to date to why they took the time to work on the BIM Coordination. They also discussed scheduling and how the project sequencing was decided to ensure minimal down time during the winter.

The Paschen Engineering Scholars program is more than an average internship. Three years of STEM curriculum, summer internships, exposure to college engineering programs, construction site visits, classroom-to-site applications, and one-on-one support ensure each student can seek the STEM career of his or her dreams with confidence.

We are looking forward to many more site visits with our Paschen Scholars!

Learn more about our Paschen Scholars program and our work with Westinghouse College Prep.

More Opportunity. More Paschen.

F.H. Paschen celebrated the completion of the first phase of the CTA 95th Street Red Line Station Improvement Project alongside joint venture partner Milhouse Engineering & Construction. A skilled, diverse workforce of over 1200 executed this work, including residents from the local community who will enjoy access to the improved station regularly.  

“We lead by example. A diverse workforce is ingrained in the history and culture of Paschen, and for each project we build a diverse workforce represents the community,” said Matt Moss, Vice President of F.H. Paschen. “Through collaboration with CTA and our design partner, EXP, we were able to maximize the station’s architectural impact and operational function, providing the best value to the CTA and their customers.”

Committed to growth and building capacity in diverse and local businesses, Paschen and Milhouse have awarded 30 percent of this project’s subcontracts to disadvantaged businesses.

The new South Terminal re-opened Sunday, April 15, with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, local aldermen, a handful of elected officials and students from the F.H. Paschen Scholars Program on-site to announce the milestone. The station is located in the center median of the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-94) at 95th Street.

To read our press release, click here.

More Opportunity. More Paschen.

The Paschen Scholars program, in affiliation with George Westinghouse High School, recently completed its second year of onsite construction internships. The program, which grants construction internships to up to 6 freshmen per school year, now has 11 student participants who visit work sites, hear perspectives from various people in the construction industry, and participate in workshops and activities to develop teamwork and creative skills.

Jobsites visited included the AMC building project at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the Western/Belmont Avenue reconstruction, 41^st Street Pedestrian Bridge, CTA 95^th Street Station, and the O’Hare Runway project. Each visit gave the students an overview of the projects and a chance to ask questions to gain a better understanding of how the teams approach the projects.

During the second week of July, the students started working on their own construction projects. Second year students constructed bridges out of popsicle sticks. They formulated cost estimates, designed the bridges, and built them to spec to withstand a weight test. First-year students used the same principles to design and build personal shelters. Each group inspected the other’s work, and gave feedback on quality and safety.

The Paschen Scholars program will continue throughout the school year. In 2018, F.H. Paschen will welcome a new group of students for the third year of the Paschen Scholars program, bringing the number of scholars to 17.