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Alumni Awards List

ADAM HERBIG first became interested in architecture while quite young as a frequent viewer of "This Old House." He was fascinated by how buildings were put together. His seventh grade art class was tasked with designing a house and building it out of cardboard. Adam designed the whole thing to 1/4"=1' scale and built it to insane detail. When he saw that it worked, he was hooked on architecture!

Adam came to K-State as a graduate of Oak Park High School and resident of Gladstone, Missouri. He was drawn to K-State by the multitude of design course options available within the college and the "down to earth" attitudes of the faculty. Interior architecture perfectly fit his appetite for learning how to do design with creativity and apply it to practical applications.

While at K-State, Adam was a member of the Concert Jazz Ensemble, which helped him keep a balance between work and play. He spent his study-abroad in Prague, experiencing one of the most amazing six months of his life. Adam feels the broad knowledge he gained through the interior architecture curriculum set him on the path for a wide-open career.

Following graduation, Adam accepted a position as an exhibit designer with the Freeman Company in Dallas, Texas. Though he hadn't had significant experience designing exhibits, the skills he acquired at K-State offered a fresh perspective and ability to translate design to manufacturing. Adam spent two full years at Freeman learning "the ins and outs" of the industry, designing environments for everything from optical instruments to fire trucks and anything in between.

The pull of family and a desire for new challenges brought Adam back to Kansas City and to Winntech, a design and manufacturing firm. There, Adam brought a new level of exhibit design and manufacturing practices to their consumer electronics clients and retailers. Throughout his tenure as director of industrial design, Adam was privileged to be involved in many innovative and award-winning exhibit and retail projects.

After three years, Adam was brought over to the Kendal King Group by one of his former co-workers. Adam immediately expanded the abilities of the group. The need for exhibit and interior architecture services for many of their major brand clients was a huge draw for Adam to come to this entrepreneurial company. The challenge of growing a business segment within the company has proven to be a tremendous learning opportunity.

Today, as director of environments and events, Adam has built a solid business of exhibit and event services under the umbrella of Kendal King Group. Most of his daily work now encompasses servicing his main client, Nickelodeon/Viacom Consumer Products. He has thoroughly enjoyed producing several focused industry events, assisting them in marketing support, and he especially had fun bringing SpongeBob to life nationally at Walmart this past March.

Throughout the past 10 years, Adam has always enjoyed coming back to K-State as either a guest lecturer or critic. He is always excited to participate in any forum to help students. He longs to give back, and he finds that he gets so much benefit from the students' fresh energy. Adam says it's always great to see what the students are doing.

Adam and his wife, Stephanie, have a loft in a converted historic building near downtown Kansas City. He plays bass in a local band in his spare time and enjoys traveling for fun with Stephanie to the quiet corners of the Canadian Rockies.