DARKE COUNTY — The 20 Under 20 Awards were developed by Darke County Economic Development, Auglaize Mercer Business Education Alliance (AMBE), and Hometown Opportunity to recognize students, educators, and businesses collaborating to help prepare the next generation of workers in our region. The 20 winners must be under the age of 20 and residents in Darke, Mercer, or Auglaize counties. They must also be involved in part-time employment, internships, co-op programs, mentoring, entrepreneurship, or other business/education partnerships while in high school, post-secondary, or adult education/training programs.
Danielle Winner is a 2018 Versailles graduate, attending the University of Cincinnati, majoring in architectural engineering. Danielle plans to work part-time for Garmann/Miller Architects – Engineers this upcoming summer. She plans to graduate from UC in 2023 and return to the area to live and work for a local firm. She is the daughter of Dale and Cheryl Winner.
According to Kristi Shaner, on behalf of Garmann/Miller Architects – Engineers, Winnerdisplayed incredible drive and a passion for the field of architecture and engineering. Before hiring her straight out of high school, Winner showed drive by visiting the office to speak about future opportunities. She worked as a co-op at our Minster office during the 2018 winter break and 2019 summer in our Electrical Engineering Department. During that time, she was challenged to design multiple electrical components of a commercial building such as lighting, power, and fire alarm systems.
“I believe Danielle is the prime example of how our area can generate smart, hardworking talent while having the ability to serve others,” shared Shaner.
Further, while working at GMAE, Winner excelled at almost every task that was given to her. She was able to work independently with little guidance and quickly pick up on new software programs such as AutoCAD and Revit (3-D drawing software). Her ability to listen, learn, and then implement was impressive at such a young age.
“Danielle was learning the basic functions and software of a professional design firm, she was also able to help teach other GMAE team members basic program functions,” continued Shaner. “Her natural ability to serve others while still educating herself at the same time was a true trait to admire.”
Jacki Stonebreaker, Principal Versailles HS, stated, “I not only had the privilege of teaching Danielle, but I also got to coach her on the basketball court. She was a great athlete, but more importantly, she was very coachable.”
The principal cited Winner as an extremely hard worker.
“She never takes ‘no’ for an answer and is always striving to do her very best,” said Stonebreaker. “This is why she was a part of so many state championship and runner up teams. Danielle is a great leader, role model, and competitor.”
“The experience gained through an internship can separate you from your colleagues. Danielle has shown a keen interest in the construction industry, and by already having on-the-job experience in the field,” shared Winner’s supervisor Ben Miller, PE, Garmann/Miller Architects – Engineers. “She’s built a foundation of knowledge to pave the way for her future. Recruiters give preference to applicants who have shown the drive and ambition to acquire the skills needed to succeed in their chosen industry, which Danielle has done. It also saves a company time and effort on training, and it allows the new employee to hit the ground running.”
