Pacific Mobile is proud to offer students pursuing a career in architecture at Portland State University with scholarships. We created this scholarship program after a long-standing collaborative partnership with Portland State University’s School of Architecture. We teamed up with Portland State University students and Blazer Industries to create the Smart Academic Green Environment (SAGE) classroom prototype after our owner, Garth Haakenson, was introduced to PSU professors in the architecture program, Sergio Palleroni, and Margarette Leite. 

Professors Palleroni and Leite shared with Mr. Haakenson that they were committed to designing a healthier environment that would improve the learning experience for students. With many standard relocatable classrooms being designed to minimum code standards, Palleroni and Leite were ready to seek change. It just so happened that their goal aligned with Mr. Haakenson’s, and upon seeing the initial concept of their design, he immediately wanted to get involved in the project and bring it to market. 

This partnership gave PSU architecture students a new hands-on opportunity to jump in and solve a real-world problem, as they imagined a new reality for relocatable classroom space. Today, Pacific Mobile has installed over 100 SAGE classrooms throughout Washington and Oregon as a result of that partnership. SAGE combines the latest thinking in healthy learning environments with the best in green building practices. The result is a cost-effective, award-winning, relocatable classroom alternative. Last year, the SAGE line expanded with the introduction of the SAGE Campus which offers all the benefits of the SAGE Classroom across an entire school building. 

To continue to serve the PSU community, we are honored to offer financial support in addition to hands-on opportunities to inspire rising architecture professionals to consider a career in modular construction and improve the communities where they live. 

Camilla Palmer is our 2023 scholarship recipient. Camilla has two years left in the Portland State University School of Architecture Program. 

Camilla’s unsuspecting interest in architecture came by way of her interest in sustainability. She knew architecture was a path she wanted to pursue when she saw what the Portland State University School of Architecture was doing for people in need experiencing poverty, homelessness, and displacement. 

“Architecture is one of the biggest issues we have when it comes to sustainability. We need to figure out how to make it more sustainable,” says Camilla. That’s what she plans to do when she graduates, whether she starts a firm or joins one. She hopes her ability to communicate effectively about useful space and advocacy for people in need will make architecture more accessible to all socioeconomic levels and keep functionality in focus. 

“We already have a lot of buildings. I want to focus on how to make the buildings we have work better for us,” she adds. 

Camilla shares that this scholarship empowers her to focus on creativity and design with more time spent outside of a job. At Pacific Mobile, we are thrilled to support Camilla’s educational endeavors and we can’t wait to watch her career unfold. Congratulations Camilla!