Spears School’s ‘I Am Building’ project will follow freshmen for next four years

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Jorge Luna, Tim Sakabu and Jeana Wilson all took different routes to Oklahoma State University, but the three freshmen have more in common than they realize.

Sakabu’s mother is a college counselor who suggested the lifelong Californian consider OSU although none of his family had ever visited Oklahoma before. Wilson has been destined to attend Oklahoma State since her parents were married on the bridge at Theta Pond.

All three are participating in the Spears School of Business’s “I Am Building” project, which will follow a number of freshmen throughout their careers as business students at OSU. The project will show the life of the students as they grow and develop over the next several years as the new building also rises from dirt to an impressive new structure that will impact their lives for years to come.

“I am very excited to follow the academic careers of this diverse group of freshmen. They each bring an interesting perspective to the Spears School and I appreciate their willingness to let us document their OSU experience,” said Ken Eastman, dean of the Spears School. “We are proud of our students and this project will allow others to learn more about our wonderful students.”

The freshmen who enrolled in the Spears School this fall can look forward to being the first class to graduate after OSU’s new Business Building is completed. Manhattan Construction will complete the build in January 2018, opening to students that spring. Elliott + Associates Architects designed building will be approximately 145,000 square feet.

As part of the “I Am Building” project, the Class of 2019 students will share their stories through several mediums, including video, social media, magazine articles, newsletters and blogs.

"I wanted to be a part of this project because I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself," said Wilson. "Obviously I love this university and this town – they mean a lot to me. To have the opportunity to share that with everyone means a lot to me."

Students who will share their stories the new few years include:

Peyton Hillery, accounting, Wichita Falls, Texas
Forrest Hull, entrepreneurship, Jenks, Oklahoma
Jorge Luna, marketing, Oklahoma City
Braxton Noble, finance, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Tim Sakabu, finance, Antelope, California
Jeana Wilson, marketing/apparel merchandising, Stroud, Oklahoma

“I think it will be great to look back and see how your life progressed through your college years,” said Hull, an entrepreneurship major who started a mobile app design company during high school. “Because I started following my passion and pursuing it so aggressively at a young age, I think if people who are younger or even my age see this they’ll be inspired to pursue their goals, regardless of their age or what they want to achieve.”

“I agreed to be a part of this project because I saw it as such an interesting opportunity,” said Sakabu. “Me growing up in these four years and the building growing up in these four years, I just like how they’ll parallel each other.”

Click here to view the “I Am Building” website.