Megan (Gezze) Blank, BSME ’02, Engineers History
Megan (Gezze) Blank, BSME ’02, has found a unique niche in engineering. She works for Westlake Reed Leskosky, an architecture and engineering firm in Cleveland, Ohio. She held a summer internship with the company during her undergraduate studies and has been employed with them since graduating from Ohio Northern University in 2002. At Westlake Reed Leskosky, Blank has specialized in updating heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems, as well as plumbing and fire protection, in historic buildings. Blank and her coworkers find the best way to update these buildings while preserving their unique and historic architecture. The firm designs a wide variety of structures, including office buildings, theaters, museums, health care facilities, performance arts centers and college campus buildings. “It is great to be able to go to a city or look around the city I live in and see the buildings I have worked on and take pride in,” says Blank. Blank describes attending formal openings at a few of the buildings she helped repair and being pleased that everyone is comfortable with the temperature and low noise levels. “If our work is not seen or heard, it means we’ve done a good job!” she says. Blank is especially proud of her work on the historic Balboa Theatre in San Diego, Calif. The theatre opened in 1924 and hosted nationally recognized vaudeville acts and major stars of the 1920s. After changing owners several times in the following years, and being used as a residence for sailors during World War II, the theatre was closed. The city of San Diego acquired the building in 1986 and later committed to restoring it within the guidelines of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings. In 2004, Westlake Reed Leskosky began the initial phase of the restoration. Blank says that much of the mechanical equipment was in tight spaces throughout the theatre, so the team had to do a lot of exploring in tunnels and hidden spaces to find it. She personally drew a detail for a design that was painted on a large rebuilt exhaust fan. Blank also helped design and draw the construction documents, as well as manage construction issues, and made several trips to the theatre to observe the project’s progress. Once it was completed, she even attended the grand re-opening of the historic landmark. Currently, Blank is taking part in a project that includes a renovation of and addition to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Westlake Reed Leskosky is working with Fentress Architects to update the layout and architecture of the museum, and the team is aiming for a certified “green” design from LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). A LEED®-certified design, says Blank, “allows us to be creative in our energy-efficient design strategies.” Blank says that ONU helped her learn to work well with others, apply theory, solve problems and present solutions to diverse audiences. She liked the small-school environment of Northern because it was easy to seek help from faculty. The professors know their students, and the students are friendly and cooperative, she says. Her favorite memories of her time at ONU are the Sunday nights of her sophomore year. She and many of her Engineering Analysis classmates would stay up nearly all night in computer labs to finish project design papers. She says of those times, “You start to get goofy in the wee hours of the night. Nothing like waiting till the last minute!” Blank occasionally returns to ONU for career fairs, at which she recruits for Westlake Reed Leskosky. She has also presented to senior mechanical engineering classes and the Society of Women Engineers group on campus. She has just passed her professional engineering licensure exam and plans to continue learning about HVAC and sustainable design. In November 2007, she married Doug Blank, a civil engineer who graduated from Case Western Reserve University. They are currently living in Broadview Heights, Ohio.
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1998
........................................................................... Jacob Krecic, BSBA, and Shannon Beaver were married August 18, 2007, in Cleveland, OH. Jacob is the founder of Altman and Krecic Wealth Management Group at Wachovia Securities, where he is also the vice president of investments. JoEllen (Fox) Redshaw, PharmD, and Matthew Redshaw were married May 17, 2008, in Indianapolis, IN. The couple resides in Fishers, IN.
1999
........................................................................... Andrew Blankenship, BSECE, is a device engineering manager for Freescale in Austin, TX. He and his wife, Angela, reside in Round Rock, TX. Larissa (Covert) Brown, BSBA, is an executive assistant for Vera Bradley Designs in Fort Wayne, IN, where she and her husband, David, also reside. Heather Haynes, BS, graduated from Wright State University’s Medical School in 2004. She completed her residency at Latrobe Area Hospital where she served as chief resident during her third year of training. Heather maintains her own practice in Fremont, OH, where she and her husband, Junior Barbier, also reside. Matthew Kennedy, BSPh, is a pharmacist for Winn Dixie in Saint Cloud, FL, where he also resides. Charles Milota, BSPh, and Rondi Victor were married June 9, 2007. Charles is a clinical pharmacist for University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center-Chagrin Highlands Medical Center. The Milotas reside in Fairview Park, OH, with their son. Jennifer Kaleigh (Kulpa) Motz, BA, is a college recruiting interview partner with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. She and her family reside in Fairless Hills, PA. Helen Raymond, BFA, is a nanny for the Wilkins family in Union, KY. She resides in Cincinnati, OH. Cheryl (Reiter) Steinhilber, BSPh, and Eric Steinhilber were married July 11, 2007, in Maui, HI. The couple resides in Mansfield, OH, where Cheryl is a pharmacy manager at Wal-Mart. They can be reached at creiter001@neo.rr.com
JoEllen (Fox) Redshaw, PharmD ’98, and Matthew Redshaw were married May 17, 2008.
OHIO NORTHERN ALUMNI JOURNAL