BYU Students in the construction management program competed in a competition Oct. 31 through Nov. 9 to enhance their education through experience with real-life construction related issues.
A team made up of BYU students took first place in the residential category during a challenge for construction management.
According to Kevin Miller, the program chair of construction management (CM) at BYU, this was the thirteenth annual CM Challenge. The challenge was held at the Snell building on campus and several schools participated, including BYU, BYU-I, Utah Valley University, Weber State University and Colorado Mesa University.
Each challenge was sponsored by a different company that had an issue to be solved. These unique challenges gave students the opportunity to apply what they have been learning in classes to a real life situation.
A developer from Arizona had the BYU team develop the financial aspects, planning and layout for a subdivision project.
BYU CM student Joe Fisher said he enjoyed the challenge and that his team gained a lot from the competition.
“I really liked the new experience that the challenge presented for our team,” Fisher said. “We were meticulous with our presentation and got into the business side of things, showing the investors what they would get out of it, which set us apart from other teams.”
This challenge provided the students with preparation for a much larger competition being held in Reno, Nevada in February. BYU CM student Krystofer Gardner said the best thing about the challenge was the preparation for future competitions.
“The best thing that we took from the challenge was learning about our team dynamic, Gardner said. “Learning how our team works together was good preparation for our future competition in Nevada.”
Miller said he was proud of the BYU students who participated and believes they are prepared for not only the competition in February, but also their futures as construction management professionals.
“While we call this a competition, it’s really an education experience,” Miller said. “They really worked together well as a team and performed their best work.”
