Cal Poly Construction Management Wins Big At Regional Competition
Students from Cal Poly’s Construction Management Department took home multiple awards at the Region 7 Associated Schools of Construction Student Competition in February.
Ten of the 12 teams from Cal Poly placed in the competition, building a strong reputation for the university at future competitions.
Construction management senior Thomas Rogers was co-captain of the concrete solutions team at the competition and talks about the prep process.
“We’ll get sent a practice problem at the beginning of fall quarter and then one at the beginning of winter quarter,” Rogers said.
During February’s competition, each team is given a problem relating to a specific field of construction management, which they have 18 hours to finish. The next day they must give a presentation on their solution.
This is Rogers’ third year on the team and first year being captain. He said he joined the team to get the Cal Poly “Learn by Doing” experience.
“It’s something you can’t really learn in the classroom,” Rogers said. “So, kind of being forced to be basically locked in a hotel room for those 18 hours –– we call it the war room –– it kind of puts you closer to the real-world experience you’re going to face when you graduate [from] Cal Poly.”
Rogers said that even after he graduates he plans to stay involved with the department to help the students who come after him.
“I think it’s important that when we graduate from our majors, we come back and really help out people that are still here,” Rogers said. “That just kind of builds that relationship and trust. Then, when they graduate and they work for other companies, they have an even stronger connection with them within the industry.”
56 different universities attended the competition in Reno February 9 through 12. The competition also gave students the opportunity to connect with future employers, according to construction management junior Tommy Collins.
“There’s just a numerous amount of companies that come to these events. They’re constantly recruiting,” Collins said. “It’s a great opportunity to meet people to, you know, also like learn more about the industry itself.”
Collins was also on Cal Poly’s concrete solutions team, which took home the first place trophy.
Collins said he was also able to gain some important life skills at the competition.
“It teaches you about public speaking skills because you have to go and present,” Collins said. “It teaches you about an unreal amount of different aspects of the construction industry, as well as just learning how to be more social with people you want to work for.”
