Helped restore two fire stations destroyed by Hurricane Katrina
Brigham Young University students had an impressive showing at the annual conference of the International Facility Management Association, winning the award for International Student Chapter of the Year and nine of the association’s 23 scholarships.
Thirty BYU students attended the IFMA World Workplace conference in New Orleans, where they competed with students from around the world for the association’s honors.
“This is a significant accomplishment for our FM program, and demonstrative of the caliber of students within it,” said Meagan Lake, public relations assistant for the School of Technology.
Another integral part of the conference was the e-poster competition, where students presented research on facilities management topics. The finalists are awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe to present their research to a conference of industry professionals. BYU students Jeff Page and John Widfeldt won first and second place in the competition, respectively.
The BYU student chapter of the IFMA was also named International Student Chapter of the Year for the fourth year in a row, an award BYU’s chapter has won for seven of the past 10 years.
“It was an honor to stand next to students from this amazing university and feel so recognized and appreciated within the industry,” said BYU student and award-winner Brad Randall.
In the culminating event of the trip, all of the BYU students joined with local fire departments to gut, clean, repair and repaint two fire stations destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. As members of a program focused on structural safety, security and disaster recovery, the students were able to participate in a hands-on educational experience that solidified what they learned in the classroom.
For more information, contact Meagan Lake in the School of Technology at (801) 422-1777.
Writer: Marissa Ballantyne
