The foundation of our business at Speight Marshall Francis is rooted in building and maintaining meaningful personal relationships with you, our valued clients. In that spirit, we created “Employee Spotlight,” an informative feature about the employees who make up our team at Speight Marshall Francis. Today we shine a spotlight on Sean E. Chapman, a Senior Structural Engineering Technician in his 15
th
year at Speight Marshall Francis. Sean’s drafting abilities include using both AutoCAD and REVIT to produce engineering drawings.
Sean’s interest in drafting was initially sparked in an industrial arts class in high school when he encountered an original pen plotter. After high school Sean decided to join the U.S. Army, however his career path took a turn after 2 years when he had to be medically discharged. Faced with a life change, Sean took Studio Arts and Art History courses at Tidewater Community College and an Architectural Drafting class at Norfolk State University before finally deciding his new path –a Computer Aided Drafting and Design Associates Degree from ITT Technical Institute (a decision we are thankful for)!
Sean has acquired a total of 20 years of experience on his resume as a drafter and being able to see how projects progress from 2-dimensional drawings to real life still intrigues and excites him on a daily basis. Throughout his 15 years of important work at SMF, he has obtained immense respect for the crucial role structural engineering plays in ensuring public safety and his part in the process of creating structurally-sound buildings. Some of his favorite projects to draw are wood construction, especially residential homes because of the altruistic feeling he gains from contributing to homes provided for others.
We asked Sean to name a few of his most enjoyable projects of his career. That list includes Eastern Shore Public Library Renovation & Expansion, New Residential Facility at Norfolk State University, and Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School in Richmond. Of the hundreds of projects Sean has worked on, he credits Additions and Renovations to John B. Dey Elementary School for Virginia Beach Schools as the unparalleled endeavor on which he has contributed to date. The unique classroom pod concept, designed by HBA Architecture & Interior Design, features rooftops that resemble wings of birds in flight. Sean also deeply appreciates the numerous environmentally friendly and sustainable features that were incorporated into the design and construction.