Seventeen Illinois State construction management students attended and competed in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region III Student Competition held October 18–21 in Downers Grove.
Associate Professor Haiyan (Sally) Xie, Ph.D., was the faculty advisor for the Design Build Team and Associate Professor Euysup Shim, Ph.D., was the faculty advisor for the Commercial Construction Team and the Pre-Construction Teams.
“They understood what they would be required to do for the competition and made a lot of efforts to get themselves prepared,” Shim said. “Their hard work led to great results. They did a great job for the competition.”
Team Captain Damian Chojnowski, Nick Fischer, Sam LaScala, Logan Thompson, Kevin O’Riley, and Brett Weaver were members of the first-place Commercial Construction Team.
The Commercial Team’s project was a Chicago Park District boathouse construction project that was constructed by Walsh Construction, the competition sponsor. The project included two buildings for storing rowing shells and field house with workout spaces for rowers. The project also included a floating boat launch dock in the Chicago River. The Commercial Team was required to develop a bid proposal that included quantity take-off, estimating, scheduling, site logistics plan, safety plan, quality assurance plan, value engineering, and suggestions for LEED points.
“The opportunity to partake in the ASC competition allows students to take the knowledge they have assimilated at the University and then display it by applying such concepts to a real-world scenario,” Chojnowski said. “Being able to experience all that goes into the competition is a large learning opportunity and event in which all members can network with leading industry professionals as well as other students that can potentially be a working partner. The most satisfying takeaway from the experience comes after the team putting in 15 long hours of work in analysis and preparation for the presentation, when ISU took first place at the competition for the second year in a row. I would highly recommend joining this competition because aside from the hands-on opportunity, you can also gain value from the experience as you build a close bond with your teammates.”
The Pre-Construction Team consisted of Team Captain Karl Taillon, Alan Avitia, Dominic Tassone, Andre Lagasca, and Aaron May. The team placed second.
The Pre-Construction team project was the Columbia College Chicago Student Center project, which is being constructed by the Pepper Construction, the competition sponsor. The project included a five-story, 114,000 square-foot student center in Chicago’s South Loop. The Pre-Construction Team was required to develop a bid proposal for pre-construction service and construction service that included cost estimating, scheduling, site logistics plan, safety plan, and quality assurance plan.
“This year at the ASC Student Competition, Illinois State University students participated in the national pre-construction competition for the first time,” Taillon said. “This competition challenged us on every aspect that we have learned through our entire time in the construction management program. It is a great opportunity for students to further advance their curricular, as well as network with students across the nation and large companies in the industry. It was such a great feeling after putting in so much work to take second place behind a school that has won it countless years in a row.”
Team Captain Faris Kahvedzic, Taillon, Dylan Hoskins, Mariah Bormann, Justin Keyt, Chad M. Rogers, and Travis Woolen competed in the ASC Design Build Student Competition. Their project was a facility addition health care project called the Feel Good Health Systems Project set up and judged by McCarthy Construction.
Three Illinois State students, including Jason Love participated in the ASC Sophomore Workshop. “The ASC Sophomore Workshop was a great experience! It provided an opportunity to learn about different facets of the construction industry, network with industry leaders, participate in mock bidding scenarios, and meet students from other universities. I would strongly recommend attending this workshop.”
The Department of Technology is proud of all of the students who participated in the Associated Schools of Construction competition teams and the Sophomore Scholarship Workshop for their dedication and the hard work they invested in preparing for the competition.
