Brandon Twp.-As a civil engineer and project superintendent, Shawn Champion has completed some rather complex buildings.
His most recent accomplishment, a $40 million ‘clean-room? addition at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, designed to research and produce microchips along with providing nano-technology? was a three-year project that would challenge any civil engineer.
However, for Champion, a 1993 Brandon High School graduate, his next building project may not be the biggest or most complex, but may well be the most important to him.
Champion, 32, will serve as the building project superintendent for the new $18.8 million Brandon Elementary School currently under construction near the intersection of Hadley and Oakwood roads. When the 65,000 square-foot school is complete in January 2009 it will replace his alma mater, H.T. Burt Elementary School.
‘It was always in the back of my mind to come back to my community and work on a project,? said Champion, a township resident.
‘Every building project has special challenges. But for me, it’s special that I’m working on a lasting part of the school district where I attended as a student and graduated from.?
As the project superintendent for the project, Champion is responsible for all aspects of construction, including materials, workers and following detailed blueprints.
Champion graduated from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich. in 1998, where he received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. After completing his studies, he was hired by Southfield-based Skanska-USA, a leading construction services and developer of public-private partnerships, from small renovations to billion-dollar projects.
‘I was part of the management team from Skanska that proposed the school project to the Brandon School Board,? said Champion.
‘I grew up in Ortonville and just love the chance to work in my hometown.?