Towering cranes dominate the skyline, but the spotlight is on one donned with an American flag. Its steel arm lifts the last massive beam to form the structure of Ford Motor Company’s new 2.7 million-square-foot Ohio Assembly Plant facility. Among those standing on the sprawling 419-acre Avon Lake construction site — representing a $1.5 billion Ford investment — is 2024 Lorain County Community College graduate, Rhiannon Scebbi.
Scebbi, 22, is a civil construction management co-op for Rudolph Libbe Group, the North Ridgeville general contractor overseeing Ford Motor Company’s project to build a facility that will house its electric vehicle production line. She is the first community college graduate Rudolph Libbe Group has ever hired into the co-op position, where employees work part time under the supervision of a project engineer while attending school. And based on how it’s going, Scebbi won’t be the last.
“This is the first experience we’ve had with a co-op who has a two-year degree,” says Jaime Hart, Rudolph Libbe Group business development manager. “We see the value of what she had learned at LCCC and was then able to apply to this program. We’d love to explore the opportunity for future apprenticeship programs or co-ops. It’s been a great experience.”
For Scebbi, of Lorain, it’s been a successful start to her young career.
“I’ve always been very interested in engineering and infrastructure, even as a child,” Scebbi says. “I’m passionate about the construction process and how projects happen from beginning to end. And to be involved in a nearly 3-million-square-foot, ground-up construction project has been eye-opening and a learning opportunity.”
Finding a fresh start at LCCC
Scebbi’s interest in construction management began with the typical childhood inspiration —playing with LEGO® sets — but her education path wasn’t what she planned. After graduating from Saint Joseph Academy in 2020, Scebbi enrolled in a civil engineering program at a four-year university. But two years in, she wanted out.
“I was a little homesick being away,” Scebbi says. “I’m very close with my family, so, for me, moving back home and being able to commute was the right fit.”
In fall 2022, Scebbi began LCCC’s Associate of Applied Science in Construction Technology – Construction Management. This time around, it felt right.
“It was a fresh start,” Scebbi says. “I had great academic advisors and excellent faculty.”
Scebbi says LCCC instructors taught their courses with a unique mix of textbook and hands-on learning, and compassion and care.
“They helped me a lot outside of school and academics,” she says. “They gave me motivation and career advice.”
Part of the career advice Scebbi received was getting industry experience early on. LCCC’s flexible course offerings made that feasible and Scebbi spent nine months working as a project engineering intern with Regency Construction Services Inc.
“A lot of the classes I took at LCCC were offered either at night or very early in the morning,” Scebbi says. “So, I was able to work part time in a job that was in my career.”
Landing a Rudolph Libbe Group co-op
In early 2024, as Scebbi was finishing her final last semester at LCCC, Hart was busy attending job fairs looking for her next crop of multi-trade co-ops.
“We are a self-performing contractor, so we hire co-ops in the civil, mechanical and electrical fields,” Hart says. “We put them in that role, and they work alongside our project engineers or project managers.”
Hart says Rudolph Libbe Group approaches these co-op hires with long-term talent goals in mind.
“We’re looking for the future for Rudolph Libbe,” Hart says. “They get practical experience that they can then apply to their coursework. We don’t want them making copies or getting coffee. We want them on the job sites to experience and learn from real-life examples.”
For many reasons, including having prior construction experience as an intern, her federal OSHA 30-hour certification on top of her associate degree, and a plan to complete her Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering, Scebbi fit into Rudolph Libbe Group’s future and was hired in January 2024.
“We probably couldn’t have found a better first-time community college graduate example,” Hart says. “Rhi has strong communication skills, she asks questions, she did research on our company. She fit in right away.”
Taking part in a massive project
Within the first couple months at Rudolph Libbe Group, Scebbi walked onto Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant construction site and was in awe of the effort. On any given day, Scebbi’s contributions include submitting requests for information, managing change requests and processing purchase orders. She also helps manage Rudolph Libbe Group’s ‘Find It Fix It’ safety program, which encourages site personnel to submit and correct safety hazards on the job site.
“It’s impressive to see everything coming together, and how quickly and efficiently everyone can work to make this kind of progress,” Scebbi says. “If you’re offsite for just one day, when you come back, it’s amazing to see what happened in that time.”
Hart says it’s crucial for students like Scebbi to see their contribution to a project with this type of lasting economic magnitude. Especially in their home county.
“This doesn’t happen in your backyard every day,” Hart says. “As a long-time partner of Ford, this is a tremendous opportunity for our young employees to see. Beyond that, this new site will do much for Lorain County in terms of job creation and continuing to employ those in the trades, for decades to come.”
The targeted completion date for the facility is some time in 2025. But Scebbi isn’t waiting until then to showcase her role in the project.
“Do you know how many times I’ve taken family and friends and driven past the site to show them what I’m working on? It’s so exciting to see. And I’m grateful to be a part of it.”
