MSU students take 2nd place at the 2021 National Association of Home Builders Student Competition
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EmailIn February, the two-time defending national champion MSU Residential Construction Management Competition team took second place at the National Association of Home Builders 2021 Student Competition, which was held virtually this year.
In February, the two-time defending national champion MSU Residential Construction Management Competition team took second place at the National Association of Home Builders 2021 Student Competition, which was held virtually this year.
MSU finished on the podium for the fourth year in a row and competed against 29 other four-year college and university teams in this highly competitive event, where the difference between first and second was a mere 1% of available points. The MSU team competes every year and regularly places in the top five nationally.
The competition team is led by George Berghorn, PhD, assistant professor of construction management (CM).
Primary team members include School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC) CM seniors Aundrea Cole, Michael Hadvina, Sabrina Maniaci, Mel Rowley, and Tahmim Siddiquee; and Interior Design senior Taylor Howes. The alternate members of the team included CM senior Chengzhou Luo, and Interior Design juniors Chloe Jaworski and Brooklyn Nurenberg.
The team members are a part of the MSU Student Builders & Contractors Association.
The goal of the competition is to expose students to an in-depth residential development project from concept to closing. The competition gives students an opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom to a real company by completing a detailed land and home development prospectus.
“The amount of work that team members contribute to this project is monumental, and this year’s challenge of distance learning with no in-person collaboration added to the workload. I remain impressed by our students’ resilience, dedication and self-discipline during these most trying times,” George Berghorn said.
This year, the competition required students to prepare a comprehensive proposal to develop a 300-acre parcel with exceptionally challenging site conditions, located in Concord, North Carolina.
During the competition, students defended their proposals to the judges in front of a large audience. The judging panel was comprised of four senior executives from some of the top builder-developers in the U.S., and they scrutinized student proposals with the same intensity they would those from their own firms.
While this is primarily a construction management competition that is often dominated by men, this year the team was composed of mostly women. In addition, the Michigan State team included team members from the interior design program, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the school.
“We are happy to see the growth of interdisciplinary and underrepresented student involvement in our program through such opportunities,” said Professor Sinem Mollaoglu, the CM program director.
“Despite the additional challenge of working remotely for this project, our team connected and were able to rely on each other's strengths to put together a project we are all proud of. Being a part of this team will be an experience I draw from for years to come,” said Aundrea Cole, the SPDC student team leader.
“I would encourage anyone in the SPDC majors to join because there is a place for landscape architects, construction managers, interior designers and urban planners to bring in their own unique perspectives to these projects." Aundrea Cole, the student team leader
“I would encourage anyone in the SPDC majors to join because there is a place for landscape architects, construction managers, interior designers and urban planners to bring in their own unique perspectives to these projects."
For more information about the MSU Residential Construction Management Competition team, contact George Berghorn.
Learn more about the CM Competition Teams, MSU Student Builders and Contractors Association and the National Association of Home Builders Student Competition.
