Besal Fund Supports Tomorrow’s Lighting Leaders

August 11, 2017 Neil Egan

As another academic year begins, we are delighted to salute the lighting industry’s leaders of tomorrow.

And that begins with a nod to our past.

For years, Acuity Brands and our employees/sales reps have proudly contributed to the Robert J. Besal Memorial Education Fund. As a VP with our Lithonia Lighting® brand, Bob spent more than 30 years as a great leader and role model. And his inspiration shines on through the fund, which annually honors academically gifted students and encourages them to pursue careers in the lighting industry.

Since it was established in 1983, the Besal Fund has awarded more than $780,000 in academic scholarships to over 300 university students studying illumination or lighting. Many have gone on to highly successful careers that are furthering the growth of our ever-evolving industry.

For the 2017-18 academic year, the Besal Fund – which is administered by the Illuminating Engineering Society – has awarded 13 new scholarships to the following graduate and undergraduate students:

Student Name

Degree

University

     

Arpan Guha

Graduate

University of Nebraska

Samantha Anderson

Graduate

University of Nebraska

Nick Garaycochea

Graduate

University of Nebraska

Matt Healy

Graduate

University of Nebraska

Simon Diederich

Graduate

University of Kansas

     

Trevyn Sell

Undergraduate

Kansas State University

Tucker Rayl

Undergraduate

University of Kansas

Riley Johnson

Undergraduate

University of Nebraska

Heather Randolph

Undergraduate

Kansas State University

Whitney Luck

Undergraduate

Kansas State University

Danielle Porter

Undergraduate

Kansas State University

Darci Kern

Undergraduate

Kansas State University

Kaitlyn McConnell

Undergraduate 

University of Colorado at Boulder

Riley Johnson, one of the grateful recipients, said that “I could see myself being happy working as a (lighting) designer for the entirety of my career. It’s my goal to become as skilled as possible and be respected throughout the industry as an outstanding engineer and designer.”

Our late friend Bob Besal would surely share in this sentiment.

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