GUEST BLOG | MADELINE | DEVELOPMENT DESIGNER

The development team at S.C. Swiderski, LLC., handles land acquisition, project planning, construction financing, and the entitlement process. The team uses a collaborative process with each member representing an area of the business to ensure comprehensive project development. Check out how Madeline’s role here at SCS fits in with her team’s goals.

My name is Madeline and I have been working for S.C. Swiderski for over 2 and a half years. I began working for SCS as an Architectural Designer during the peak of Covid in 2020. I had just graduated from Northcentral Technical College with my associates degree in Architectural Design & Technology and I was eager to join a company with vast growth opportunities and an enriched work environment. I instantly clicked with SCS and became very passionate about trying to learn everything I could. As I started to work on multi-family projects, I became more involved with the upfront development planning. I took on tasks such as site planning, landscaping, working with external firms, and presenting at city meetings for project approvals. I became so passionate about development and planning that my position evolved to Development Designer where I began working entirely within the development department. I became focused on future projects for multi-family and single-family and fell in love with the impact these developments had. Being able to connect with community members and create sites and projects that had such a positive impact to their lives was very rewarding.

Coming from a background that was primarily commercial and residential architectural based, planning and real estate development was something new to me. I learned a lot with the help of some great mentors within and outside of S.C. Swiderski. With additional personal research and my own trial and errors, I worked hard to make my position a success. In the spring of 2022, I made the conscious decision to return to college specifically for Urban Planning and to further my Architectural Design education. I decided to do this because I wanted to expand my professional understanding of the planning industry. It was a daunting decision to return to college after working in the industry for a few years. I chose to attend the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee - School of Architecture and Urban Planning. Thankfully SCS was gracious to let me retain my position and allowed me to work remotely during my college education. 

Fast forward a few months to now and I am officially done with my first semester and starting my second! I have made such great friends and made some wonderful connections already with the amazing professors and staff. One of the great things about being able to still work for SCS is to be able to bring all my information that I have learned back to the team. After my first semester was complete, I was fortunate to set up a meeting with the development team and present some of my biggest take-aways thus far. I am thankful I stepped out of my comfort zone and made this decision to further my education. I am looking forward to my future classes and to learn more about planning to help make my position a success. With only a few semesters left I am ecstatic about the number of opportunities that furthering my college education will bring forth, both personally and for S.C. Swiderski. 

To learn more about our development team, click here!

SCS AWARDED 2 BUSINESS OF THE YEAR AWARDS FOR 2022

SCS was presented with 2 prestigious awards for 2022. Following a record-breaking year at SCS, we were awarded with Large Business of the Year from the Mosinee Area Chamber of Commerce and Business of the Year from Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce.

On October 20th, SCS received the 2022 Large Business of the Year Award from the Mosinee Area Chamber of Commerce. Members of the marketing team were present to accept the award at The Blind Rooster in the Central Wisconsin Airport. We are thankful for our tenants, partners, and owners for allowing us to achieve great success throughout various communities. We would like to say a huge Thank You to all businesses who are members of the Mosinee Area Chamber of Commerce for nominating and voting for us.

On January 19th, SCS received the 2022 Business of the Year award from the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce. SCS Shawano is a project that started in 2018 with a partnership with the city. We are thankful to the City of Shawano for working with us to bring this project to the Shawano Community. Team members from our Development, Leasing, and Marketing teams were present to accept the award.

To learn more about our property locations, click here.

GUEST BLOG | HADLEIGH | INTERIOR DESIGNER

The Design Team at S.C. Swiderski is involved from the conceptual phase of project planning all the way through completion of construction. This talented team is focused on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. We are excited to have Hadleigh Baumann share a little about what she does at SCS.

Being an interior designer was not the first thing I dreamt of as a child; it wasn’t even the second. Originally, I had intended to get a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in Construction Management. A woman in a man’s field? Sounds like a challenge, and one I was willing to conquer.

After a few years working in that industry, I noticed that I was always craving a creative outlet, and that is what led me to look at my other options. One day I came across a student who was in the Interior Architecture program at UW Madison, and I instantly wanted to learn more. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting down with my advisor telling her I was going to transfer from the engineering department to the school of human ecology to major in Interior Architecture.

Many people do not understand what interior architecture entails. Is it architecture? Is it interiors? What is it? First, interior architecture is the degree, and the individual would get to become an interior designer. Many people hear of interior design and think of an interior decorator – picking out all the furnishing for a home, the décor, the paint colors, even down to the throw pillows you put on your couch. But really an interior designer is much more. They specialize in materials, floorplan layouts, accessibility, building code, ADA requirements, unique material usage, acoustics, lighting, just to name a few. When you think of the space and everything it takes to create that space, an interior designer was a part of it from start to finish.

Once 2020 hit I never thought I would find a job in interior design. Everyone that wanted something designed or built was putting it on hold because there were more important things to deal with and the world was a different place. I luckily was able to find an amazing opportunity in Kansas City, MO. Did you know that Kansas City was the Sports Architecture capital of the world? Yup, me neither. But with that came great experiences although they were too far from the people I cared about the most. I then moved back to Madison, WI where I went to college thinking that this would be even closer to home and provide me with even more opportunities and experiences in my industry. After learning a lot and being a part of some cool projects, I knew this was not where I was meant to be.

Now fast forward to when I moved back to Wausau (yes, I was born and raised here and never thought I would come back. But hey, the place is pretty amazing) I never thought I would be able to work in this creative industry. Thankfully SCS gave me an amazing opportunity to come in and take charge of their new SCS Homes division and create spaces that individuals and families would love. In doing this I have been able to redesign some of our first homes that we built, create new designs for our homes, source materials that we have never used before, and take part in the larger apartment buildings that I have experience working with from former jobs.

Working at SCS has truly been the best career I have had thus far. I know people frown on saying a company is like a “family”, but the people I work with each and everyday are like my second family. We get to work on the really cool stuff at SCS. The Design Team starts working on a project from the moment it is conceived. We are helping with the ideation and creation, creating 3D models, and so much more. But then we also provide construction documents and follow building code to ensure safety amongst those residing in our buildings. And all while making sure the spaces are functional, look good, and are what our tenants are looking for. Every day is different, and we are always trying to beat deadlines and get the job done.

There are always new opportunities at SCS because we are continuously growing and evolving. SCS is a company that I am proud to work for and excited to see how my career and experience evolves here.

Find out more about the exciting projects Hadleigh and the Design Team are working on here.