Yesterday, Lionakis Architecture Designer Casey Wong, visited Burbank High School to facilitate activities and help build interest in the fields of architecture, construction, engineering and the trades. Remarkably, Casey had previously participated in the CREATE High School Mentor programs himself and has now come full circle, becoming a full time Designer at Lionakis after interning here! He thought it would be great to start giving back to the community that helped inspire and support his career ambitions.

Casey told us that the students worked together in teams to build catapults out of marshmallows, wooden sticks, spoons, tape, and rubber bands. The teams were then tasked with shooting a gummy bear into a box and one team successfully hit the mark, so great to see such enthusiasm!

The purpose of the CREATE Mentoring Program is to educate and inspire students to pursue career pathways which create the built environment and this program has been active in the Sacramento region for over a decade, serving over 1800 students in that timeframe.

Over 150 local construction managers, contractors, engineers, architects, suppliers and trades people have signed on to bring their experience and knowledge into the high school classroom and Lionakis is very proud to be one of them. These professional role models, trusted friends, career advisors and mentors make a significant contribution to our community, while helping to develop our future work force and we thought Casey’s example was a perfect illustration of how these types of programs really do make a difference!

With student focused events structured throughout the year, including an intensive CREATE Summer Academy, access to scholarships and more – this is just one of the ways that giving back and paying it forward work to create the next generation of inspired designers, architects and trade professionals. For more information on this program sponsored by SRBX (Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange), click here.