After the initial COVID shutdown in the spring of 2020, the Riverside School in Lyndonville, Vt., was able to stay open for in-person education, due largely to moving as many activities as possible outside.
In the fall of 2020, the northeastern Vermont, independent, pre-K-to-8th school decided to build an outdoor central convening facility to host school gatherings and accommodate the entire student body and faculty.
Clarkson University civil engineering major Matthew Hogan ’25, who was then just beginning his senior year of high school in Ridgefield, Conn., and his uncle, Robert Peters of nearby Granby, learned of the project to construct the timber-framed 25-by-36-foot pavilion.
Hogan was no stranger to the school, Peters’ daughter, Michaela, was a graduate and Hogan had spent a lot of time with her family. Robert Peters is an engineer with a background in building everything from roads and bridges to gazebos and log homes. Hogan had also built a timber-framed pavilion and memorial for his Eagle Scout project at a historical gravesite in Granby.
“Students at Ridgefield High School are required to do a senior internship project and I felt like this was a perfect fit because I have the knowledge and a learned skill that would assist in the completion of the project,” says Hogan.
Hogan and his uncle volunteered to build the pavilion for free, as Hogan was learning remotely from Granby, and it seemed like a good project to keep them busy during the 2020-2021 winter and spring of COVID.
During that winter and spring, Hogan, his uncle and Head of School Roy Starling worked through the design phase with the structural engineer.
“Once the engineer completed and shared the design, I prepared a materials list for the school,” says Hogan. “The design required four 25-foot-long 8×8 beams for the base of each truss, which became a huge problem because the local mill had a hard time finding any timber big enough to mill out that size.”
The lumber was finally delivered in March 2022, but by then, Hogan had already started at Clarkson. The project sat mostly idle until May, when Hogan was again available to help.
“It was important to me to follow through on this project, so when we were able to secure the construction material, I was excited to get to work and we got the job done this summer,” says Hogan.
In order to complete the project, Hogan and Peters cut and shaped each piece. The design used mortise and tenon joinery for every knee brace, and inserted steel plates for each joint in the four trusses.
A difficult part of the project was performing precise cuts with limited tools. “To cut and shape the timber, we had to use a handheld chainsaw,” says Hogan. “We used it to cut each beam to length, cut slots to fit steel plates in, and cut curves and tenons for the knee braces. We assembled each truss at my Uncle’s shop and then delivered them to the school with a log truck.”
Then, over three days in August, Hogan and Peters worked with two to three others assembling the frame.
“Matthew led every phase of this, from calculating fitment for the internal steel plates and assembling the trusses off-site, test fitting all the members in the shop, all the way through the erection of the structure,” says Starling. “It gets used every day in all weather and has provided a location for outdoor gatherings, classes, kindergarten lunches, and special events.”
Hogan says that his first year at Clarkson helped to prepare him for the project. “Freshman year at Clarkson is all about the basics – math, chemistry, physics, etc. I had the benefit of taking those classes and using that knowledge to problem-solve for this project.”
Hogan plans to pursue a career in civil engineering. “Civil is broad and multidisciplinary and encompasses many fields of engineering and the social and scientific aspects are fascinating to me,” he says. “Although I have only just started taking civil courses, I have found the instructors very engaged with their material and their classes. They have been especially helpful in finding my path at Clarkson and beyond.”
“I was very pleased to learn of Matthew’s leadership of this project from Mr. Starling,” says Professor and Chair of Civil & Environmental Engineering Steven F. Wojtkiewicz. “One of the objectives of the Clarkson CEE undergraduate programs is that our graduates will become well-rounded citizens, who utilize their education to serve the public good. While only a sophomore, Matthew is already making an impact on his community in what I am sure will be just the first of many more such accomplishments in the future.”
Hogan’s next step is to find an internship for the spring semester. “I am excited about the internship programs and opportunities where I can get some hands-on experiences using skills from classes in support of a community or business.”
“Our school has benefitted from Matthew’s expertise, hard work and kind heart,” says Starling. “Clarkson is fortunate to have such a dedicated student as part of its student body and I am sure that he will embark on other impressive projects as a student and as an alumnus.”