Our Culture

Jaron McGillivray (JM), Kayla Kumle (KK), and Paige Dieckmann (PD) share a unique journey. They all went through the construction engineering management (CEM) program at Oregon State University (OSU), interned at Lewis and now work as project engineers out of the Eugene, Oregon office. Their strong friendship, forged during their time at OSU, played a crucial role in their ability to navigate challenges and ultimately influenced their decision to build their careers at Lewis together.

Jaron, Kayla and Paige graduated from OSU in June and are all officially Lewis employees as of August. We recently sat down with all three to ask about their career aspirations, their time at OSU, and how they are finding life at Lewis.

Why construction?

KK: I originally dreamed of being a Broadway star, then worked for the Forest Service for a while and considered pursuing a career there. Eventually, I heard about OSU’s CEM program from a former boss. After seeing the impressive job placement statistics for graduates, I was convinced.

PD: My dad was a sheet metal worker, so I always had an appreciation for the trades. I started in chemical engineering, but I soon realized how much time I’d spend behind a desk. That’s when I decided to switch to construction.

JM: I wanted to study mechanical engineering. However, after taking a tour of OSU’s engineering department, construction management stood out as a more interesting career path and allowed for a nice balance of physical and mental work.

When did the three of you first meet?

PD: We first met in the Structures 1 course in the CEM program. We started sitting together and connecting over homework.

JM: Our bond began in the classroom. Paige caught me watching an episode of “The Simpsons” during class and gave me a hard time about it. We started joking with each other, and that sparked our initial connection.

In 1989, Lewis senior superintendent Shane Weller’s grandfather Bill brought him to the Boeing Red Barn at Seattle’s Museum of Flight.

The structure, the country’s oldest surviving aircraft factory, held special meaning for the Weller family. It was there that Bill closed out his carpentry career in 1983, working on the barn’s restoration before retiring. And the project’s superintendent was none other than Shane’s father and Bill’s son.

As they walked the two-story structure and its exhibits that day, Bill would stop to show his 18-year-old grandson a detail here and a challenge overcome there.

“Well, what’d you think?” he asked Shane when it was time to go. “Want to be a carpenter?”

“Well, sure!” Shane remembers answering.

That same afternoon, they drove to the Carpenters’ Union Building together, where Shane signed up to become a member. In doing so, he set himself on a path to becoming a third-generation builder. (His uncle was also a carpenter.)

“I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” Shane recalls. “It felt like a good thing and it’s turned out to be a great career.”

Shane joined Lewis as a carpenter in 1999, first working on the Seaboard Building renovation project in downtown Seattle before being promoted to foreman. In 2002, he took over as superintendent at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. He’s been a fixture there ever since.

While most superintendents tend to move on after projects are complete, Shane has chosen to stay on and support Fred Hutch.

The variety of the work and the mission have kept him coming back.

“I really feel strongly about what I do here,” he said on a recent Thursday morning from a rooftop deck that overlooks Lake Union. “Helping cure cancer—it’s pretty awesome. It’s not just building a building and walking away. In this work, we’re helping people live.”