Breann BriggsA Richland woman plans to use a scholarship award to pursue a bachelor’s degree in project management so she can one day lead her father’s construction business.

Breann Briggs of Richland received $5,000 from the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) and the Washington Home Builders Foundation to earn a project management bachelor of applied science degree.

Briggs has worked for her family’s construction company, A & R Feser Inc., since graduating from Columbia Basin College with an associate degree in 2012. She is a graduate of Kamiakin High School in Kennewick.

Briggs’ grandparents started A & R in 1966, and her father took over in 2008.

Her father plans to retire in the coming years and to pass the company along to Briggs and her brother. This encouraged her to further her education and work toward a bachelor’s degree in project management.

“A lifetime working in construction as a female has been about constantly having to prove myself more than others in the industry,” she said. “This scholarship means more than just help toward getting a degree. It means showing my daughter how important it is to push on despite the doubts of others, and that women can do anything men can do in school and the workplace.”

BIAW and the Washington Home Builders Foundation aim to nurture the future workforce by investing nearly $80,000 in scholarships and grants to 16 students and 13 construction trades programs across the state in 2023.

“The residential building industry needs 723,000 new construction workers each year to meet our nation’s current demand,” said BIAW President Gary Wray. “Investing in our future workforce is crucial, and we are so proud of these students and programs for stepping up to fill such an important need.”

The Washington Home Builders Foundation was founded in 2012 by BIAW as a way to address educational and workforce needs within the building industry through charitable activities.

Donations may be eligible for charitable contribution tax deductions.

Go to: biaw.com/wa-homebuilders-foundation/donate.