Cal Poly Students Rank High at Construction Management Competition
SAN LUIS OBISPO – An interdisciplinary team of Cal Poly students captured second place in the four-year college category at the recent 2015 National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Residential Construction Management Competition.
The competition has become a highlight of the annual International Builders’ Show. At this year’s Las Vegas event, 54 teams participated, representing NAHB student chapters at universities, community colleges and high schools from across the country.
The competition gives students the opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to a real construction management problem by completing a land acquisition proposal. During the convention students present their proposals and defend their projects in front of a panel of industry experts.
Cal Poly’s proposal included market research and sales strategy, product and site design, green building initiatives, land development, estimates, schedules, and a financial analysis.
“Congratulations to the NAHB student chapter at Cal Poly,” said Jerry Howard, CEO of NAHB. “They and their competitors showed a great deal of talent along with a depth of understanding of building industry management, from land development to marketing to scheduling to estimating.”
Cal Poly team members included construction management students Josh Gleason and Eric Sanchez, architecture student Derik DeLonzor, business students Chris Bet and Anna Costa, and city and regional planning student Darya Oreizi. Business student Scott Heath and construction management student Nick Gibson also assisted with preparing the proposal.
Bet acted as team captain and was also recognized as an outstanding student during the awards ceremony. This distinction was given based on Bet’s grade point average, involvement in the local student chapter club, and interest in pursuing a career in the housing industry.
“I think this is a big step for both the Orfalea College of Business and the College of Architecture & Environmental Design,” Bet said. “In the past, teams from just one discipline competed. This accomplishment shows how strong we can be when we come together.”
Cal Poly Construction Management Professor Scott Kelting served as faculty advisor to the students. Finance Professor Pratish Patel also worked with the team as they prepared for the finance and business portions of the project.
Cal Poly has participated in the competition since 2001, finishing in the top five during 10 of the last 15 competitions. Cal Poly placed first in 2005, 2006 and 2011.
Contact: Robyn Kontra
805-756-5331; rkontra@calpoly.edu
