In the Spotlight | Sheyenne Bierscheid
In our mission to support Central Cass students in the arts, our “In the Spotlight” series aims to showcase alumni deserving recognition.
Sheyenne (Weber) Bierscheid | Central Cass Class of 2013
Construction Project Manager, Sanford Health
Sheyenne (Weber) Bierscheid, daughter of Mark Weber - class of ‘75 - and the late Sandy Weber, is a construction project manager for Sanford Health in Fargo. She is responsible for coordinating remodels and new construction projects such as inpatient rooms, clinics, and waiting rooms. Her primary portfolio has been projects related to remodeling and program expansion at the Roger Maris Cancer Center at Sanford's downtown campus as well as some pediatric projects.In a large scale project, Sheyenne’s team works with an architect, but on some smaller projects, the design is done in house by her. In addition to keeping the project on time and budget, Sheyenne helps develop the floor plan, architectural finishes, furniture, artwork and murals. She explained, “Lots of consideration is taken when choosing the architectural finishes—flooring, paint, wall covering, tile, casework, etc. We want the finishes to complement the brand, be cleanable and durable, and to support the healing environment.” For pediatric projects, murals are often included. Sheyenne works closely with artists to do custom commissions for each project.
Before becoming a project manager, Sheyenne was a CAD (Computer-Aided Design) technician within the same department. She drew floor plans in AutoCAD, used Revit software, and worked on 3D renderings using SketchUp.
“My love for design came at an early age,” recalls Sheyenne. On a two-week summer family trip to Canada's National Parks, Sheyenne’s mom, Sandy Weber, brought along JCPenney and Pottery Barn catalogs. She gave Sheyenne design challenges to “put together a baby boy nursery with a budget of X.” Sheyenne says she spend hours flipping through the pages finding the perfect room pieces. Another special memory of Sheyenne’s was watching the finale of a season of Project Runway. She loved the show, and hosted a finale party with her 10-year-old friends. They split into teams and created basement runway outfits from a couple of boxes of fabric. Sandy had a degree in textile merchandising, and sewed and upholstered extensively, so supplies were readily available for Sheyenne’s projects.
Julia Kensok & Sheyenne Weber
Abby Runck, Sheyenne Weber, Julia Kensok & Jordyn Romsdal
Sheyenne Weber & Haley Weber
“I have always loved the arts, and it was my mom who got me interested.” She enrolled me in many activities growing up—Just for Kix, Penny and Pals, FMCT Summer Theater and Red Willow Performing Arts Summer Camp. “I loved every part in elementary plays, and I have tons of home videos of me always singing, dancing, making commercials and just performing. I always had a new idea for redecorating my room.” Sheyenne found success in a few contests as a young child—the Fargo Forum Student Originals and Shrine Circus coloring contests.
Sheyenne with 4th grade teacher, Mary Kensok
Another favorite memory of Sheyenne’s was reading one of her favorite “books”--residential floor plans. After breaking her femur in an accident a few weeks before her junior year in high school, she was gifted a book of luxury home plans. She spent hours studying and critiquing each layout while bed bound. She had several surgeries and therapy appointments that got her thinking about a career in the medical field. She attended a Youth Medical Experience at Sanford where she toured and learned about different health care careers each week. She remembers walking through the downtown hospital wanting to remodel it—not realizing at the time that healthcare design was a career, and she would be doing that just a handful of years later!
Graduation came, and Sheyenne attended UND for business. Although she loved design, she thought business was what she was "supposed" to do. After learning that a friend was transferring to NDSU’s interior design program, Sheyenne expressed her love for design, but didn’t know if it should be her actual career. Her friend encouraged her to tour NDSU, and she fell in love with the program and transferred, too!
Bierscheid shared, “The NDSU interior design program classes exposed me to much more than residential design (the only thing I was familiar with growing up)—to include commercial, retail, and healthcare design. I quickly fell in love with healthcare design. It married my love for design, but it felt so purposeful and rewarding.”
After Bierscheid’s junior year in college, she interned in Shanghai China, at a commercial firm co-led by Moorhead HS/NDSU interior design alum, Sandra Strand. “That was a fantastic summer experience—being in the "New York City" of China experiencing the culture and design on the other side of the world,” recalls Sheyenne.
Sheyenne worked at the clothing retailer, Clothes Mentor, in college. After graduation, she found a job posting for Sanford and has been there ever since! Bierscheid received an EDAC certification—Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and has also received a few internal awards at Sanford.
“I have so many fond memories of the youth art classes led by Mary Kensok for two weeks every summer. It was my first introduction to color theory—something I use in my job every day!” Sheyenne participated in the Casselton Park District’s Youth Art program for annually for 11 years and volunteered as a helper to the younger classes as she got older.
In high school, Sheyenne’s focus shifted to sports. She was active in volleyball, basketball and softball. She participated in choir and enrolled in all of Mrs. Grommesh's Family and Consumer Science (FACS) classes. A few special memories from her classes were house tours and putting together a photo booklet of different architectural home styles throughout Casselton. She also took architectural drafting, one of her favorite classes, from Mr. Ott, where she put together a set of construction documents for a residential home.
“I found a career of rich fulfillment—getting a daily dose of design and using my technical and leadership skills. I was able bridge my passion for the arts into a practical career, which I think is important to others who are hesitant to pursue a career in this direction. As my great art teacher, Mary Kensok, said—‘Art is everywhere,’ and this has proven true in my career.”
Sheyenne lives on a farmstead, near Wheatland, ND, with her husband, Cooper, and newborn son, Boden. Cooper is an entrepreneur and engineer. Their day jobs are extremely busy and chaotic, and they enjoy simple and peaceful evenings and weekends at their farm. Sheyenne also enjoys traveling—National Parks and Arizona— being favorites, visiting her in-laws’ lake in South Dakota and downhill skiing through the long ND winters.
Thanks for sharing your story, Sheyenne!
“In the Spotlight” features Central Cass alum who have excelled in the arts. Do you know a squirrel deserving recognition? Nominate them here!
