Colonel Contracting Competes at 2017 ASC Conference

Colonel Contracting, EKU's construction management team, competed at the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region 3 Conference in Downers Grove, Ill., October 18-21, 2017. As one of the member schools in ASC Region 3, the team competed with seven other universities including Ohio State, Cal Poly, Ball State, University of Southern California, and Eastern Michigan in the ASC Preconstruction Competition.

This year's team included (from left to right), seniors Josh Grove and Cliff jones (Senior), juniors Alan Groathouse and Matt Sisler, and sophomores Alex Roten and George Sensabaugh along with faculty advisor Dr. Charlie Zhang.

Teams are given a pre-problem statement and information package and one day to prepare their project proposal for preconstruction and construction services to be presented to the judging panel. The teams are then graded on their written proposal and 45-minute presentation.

Dr. Charlie Zhang, Assistant Professor of Construction Management, advises the team: "This competition provides CM students a great opportunity to broaden their view, gain experience, and share their knowledge with others. I am very pleased with our team's level of professionalism and the display of what they learned in the classroom throughout their presentation."

In addition to the intense project proposal presentation day, students also had the opportunity to network at the career fair. More than 20 nationally-recognized contractors like Walsh Construction, Pepper Construction, and Kiewit, were on hand to receive resumes and interview during the conference. Zhang continues, "We attend this competition every year, and each year we have at least two students get an offer from the career fair." Indeed, Rotan and Groathouse spoke with Turner Construction and three students interviewed with Lithko, a concrete subcontractor.

Zhang's topic of “Assessing the Feasibility of Using UAV in Surveying for Small Business in Kentucky” was accepted for presentation at the conference.

It wasn't all work. The team enjoyed an evening in Downtown Chicago for fun and a taste of traditional stuffed Chicago Pizza.

The Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) is the professional association of construction educators and industry practitioners working together for the development and advancement of construction education. The ASC Annual International Conferences provide opportunities for faculty members from Construction Management programs and industry practitioners to join together to discuss up-to-date curricula, best teaching practices, current management models in the construction industry, present research findings, to learn from each other, and to hear from industry and related professionals.

Published on October 23, 2017