#HEROESMAKE | MEET RYAN BURKE

WELCOME TO #HEROESMAKE

Tiny WPA’s new series highlights the Building Heroes, their numerous talents, the contributions they have made to Philadelphia through building and design, and the evolving things that they are making, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic and Philadelphia’s Stay at Home Order. Unsurprisingly, the Heroes have not stopped making during these challenging times; just the opposite. Making is still very much part of their lives and our lives, though we see it now with a new (more expansive) lens to include baking, building, tinkering, painting, drawing, cooking, home repair, shoe making… etc. Even during ‘normal’ times we are constantly inspired by the Building Heroes that we are lucky to know and work with on a daily basis; it is even more true now. #HEROESMAKE is intended to shine a light on these amazing individuals and their endeavors.

MEET RYAN BURKE, EMERGING TRADESMAN, FACE SHIELD FABRICATOR AND BUILDING HERO

Ryan expressed a strong connection to his family and spoke to us about his backyard fire pit project. Using a nature walk as the backdrop for a “stone search,” he and his girlfriend gathered flat rocks from Pennypack Park. The rocks would act as barrier walls in the creation of the pit. Ryan spoke of the completed project being valuable in the way it affords his family a warm and welcoming space to gather during quarantine and beyond. 

High school didn’t always feel welcoming and Ryan reported it as being a challenging span of time.  He stated “severe ADHD” created increased challenges during his education and often found that he [could] “not focus long enough to get assignments in on time.” In 2015 when @tinywpa staff started working with students, teachers and parents at the Science Leadership Academy’s Beeber campus to design and build a #makerspace to support the school community in creating improvements to their ailing facility, peers encouraged Ryan to get involved. Ryan eventually became one of the key builders and managers of the makerspace, as well as getting involved with the @beabuildinghero project outside of school.

For the first time, this work enabled Ryan to take on the challenges of learning in a tactile manner. His father, at the time, working as a trucker and also attending school as an adult learner, was his example to continue challenging himself and exploring his passions. 

Ryan states that through his work in the makerspace and with the Building Hero Project, his teachers created flexibility in his education and developed customized outcomes for his individualized learning needs. This allowed him to create and present his projects in unconventional ways, using the school’s makerspace. Ryan credits his time working on and managing the makerspace as well as his introduction to Alex Gilliam as a major influence that would change the path of his future.

Post graduation, upon passing the carpenters union test, he was able to continue gaining education through the Carpenters Joint Apprentice Training Center of Philadelphia & Vicinity, eventually gaining sponsorship under a trade union, where he continues to gain valuable work experience. He is happy about his new possibilities in carpentry and has completed 2 years of 4 years in his current apprenticeship. 

One of Ryan’s favorite parts of the job is building scaffolding and he has worked on scaffolding for many local iconic buildings including the eighteen story, Inquirer Building at N. Broad and Callowhill Streets. He also shared with glee that he’d help to build a scaffolding system atop the roof of the old Aramark Tower, a 50ft system erected atop the 412 foot tall building, a feat he is most proud of. 

Ryan speaks of great pride when driving around his hometown city of Philadelphia and having so many stories to tell about the projects he’s worked on, creating scaffolding systems and the views he’s been able to witness as a result. 

Recently laid off as a result of #covid , Ryan was able to use the laser cutting and fabrication skills that he learned at Tiny WPA and return to work on making #faceshieldsforfrontliners.

#4017lancaster #phillymade #designphilly #learnandearn #madeinphilly #weekofmaking #heroesmake