Mississippi State teams take top awards in construction competition
Contact: Christie McNeal
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi State building construction science and architecture students earned top awards at a recent regional competition, proving to themselves and other contending universities that their builds are among the best.
At the Associated Schools of Construction Southeast Region matchup, fifteen students, including听three 鈥渟hadow students,鈥 represented 91传媒 in Peachtree City, Georgia, placing first in the Commercial Construction category and third in Design-Build. They joined students from universities such as Auburn, Clemson, Florida, and Virginia Tech to vie for top honors and gain experience.
鈥淭he competition is proving ground for construction programs and is the 鈥榖ig leagues鈥 for construction schools in the Southeast,鈥 said 91传媒 Building Construction Science Program Director George Ford.
鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of our students and their coach, Dr. Saeed Rokooei,鈥 Ford said. 鈥淭hey worked hard in the weeks before the competition. I think colleagues at many competing construction programs will take note of our studio-based programming, which is unique in this region.鈥
For the competition, students receive drawings and specifications for a one-day construction project and are required to submit estimates, schedules and proposals for their respective assignments. Then overnight they prepare a proposal presentation.
鈥淭he drawings and specifications are provided by the sponsoring companies鈥 and are actual past projects,鈥 Ford explained. 鈥淪tudents learn how to work in a high-pressure environment, which offers little-to-no sleep or rest during the two days of the competition.鈥
Senior BCS student Jalyn R. Wallin of Double Springs, Alabama, a three-time participant, also emphasized the competition鈥檚 intensity.
鈥淥ur team overcame obstacles and worked together to create an amazing response to the challenge, and also pulled off a great presentation. I am very proud of what our team accomplished,鈥 Wallin said.
Senior Hunter E. Bullock, Design-Build team leader, has been involved with the competition since his freshman year. The BCS major said the studio-based, hands-on nature of the university鈥檚 BCS program prepared his team for the competition challenges.
鈥淭he problem statements are very similar to projects that we are given in studio,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he whole setup of the competition seems daunting to most people, but we are able to work diligently and get the job done just like we do in studio.鈥
Building Construction Science students (unless specified as architecture majors) who represented Mississippi State in the competition include, by hometown:
Commercial Construction Team 听
BRANDON鈥擩unior Evan 鈥淗unter鈥 Henderson
BROOKHAVEN鈥擩unior Jacob 鈥淛ake鈥 P. Roberson
DOUBLE SPRINGS, Alabama鈥擲enior Jalyn R. Wallin
GRENADA鈥擲enior Kacie Lynn James, team leader
MACON鈥擲enior Johnathan 鈥淣oah鈥 Heflin
WEST POINT鈥擲enior Steven 鈥淪teve鈥 C. Dragoo
听
Design-Build Construction Team
BLUE SPRINGS鈥擲enior architecture major Jeremy 鈥淏lake鈥 Farrar听
FAYETTEVILLE, Georgia鈥擲enior architecture major McKenzie R. Johnson
NOLENSVILLE, Tennessee鈥擲enior Hunter E. Bullock, team leader
PLANO, Texas鈥擲enior Robert L. Montoux
RIDGELAND鈥擲enior Tyler A. Seal
SPRING HILL, Tennessee鈥擲enior Victoria 鈥淭ori鈥 A. Thompson听
听听
Shadow听Students
OCEAN SPRINGS鈥擩unior Bo F. Allison听
GREENWOOD鈥擲ophomore Elizabeth R. Gallagher
CUMMING, Georgia鈥擲ophomore Micky J. Mangan
Learn more about 91传媒鈥檚 College of Architecture, Art and Design and its Building Construction Science program at and on听Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CAADat91传媒.
听91传媒 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .