By: Kyle Niblett
A team of four students from the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management finished second nationally in the annual Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Student Construction Management Competition. The contest took place at the 2022 ABC Convention in San Antonio, Texas, March 15-17, and featured 14 of the top construction management programs in the country.
“I am very proud of our team and their accomplishments at this national event,” Rinker School Director Dr. Robert F. Cox said. “Our team featured more women than any other team in the competition, which was special coming on the heels of National Women in Construction Week and during Women’s History Month.”
Consisting of Michael Bailey, Brookelyn Gerush, Chloe Gonzalez and Jenna Marcy, the Gator team also finished second overall in safety and third in quality control. Other categories in which they were tasked with showing their construction project leadership skills included estimating and project management. This year’s project focused on construction of a five-story office building in downtown Austin that will consist of four floors of Class A office space, with the opportunity for ground floor retail and/or additional office space.
“ABC’s Construction Management Competition gives students a chance to get hands-on experience in construction while being able to collaborate with their peers,” said 2022 National Chair of the ABC Board of Directors Stephanie Schmidt, president, Poole Anderson Construction, State College, Pennsylvania. “The skills they learned throughout this process will help them achieve their construction dreams, and we are looking forward to seeing the contributions they’ll be making to the industry in the future.”
Rinker School is an active member of the ABC National Student Chapter Network, which connects local ABC chapters to colleges and universities with construction management programs to build the talent pipeline and mentor future leaders of the construction industry.
