The Roofing
Alliance hosted its tenth anniversary Construction Management Student
Competition during the 2024 International Roofing
Expo® (IRE) this year in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a competition to promote
careers in roofing industry management, in which each team creates their own
roofing company, assuming roles of project manager, safety manager,
superintendent and more to illustrate their roofing, estimating and safety
knowledge.
This year’s student project was the Formula 1™ Paddock
Building in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ten schools were tasked with researching the
project, reviewing plans and specifications and creating a qualified bid
package for the judges in November 2023. The top five finalists were invited to
Las Vegas to present oral presentations in front of a panel of judges.
Taking second place in this year’s competition, Colorado
State University was among the finalists to present during the IRE. Team
captain Will Macguire and his teammates appeared on the RoofersCoffeeShop®
live sound stage for an interview with Heidi J. Ellsworth after their
presentation. They shared their experience preparing for the competition and
what they learned about the world of roofing.
Will was extremely proud of how his team handled the
presentation. He shared, “I think it went well today. I think our team was very
well prepared and well-rehearsed and I think we have a good chance of placing
this year.”
After the presentation, the panel of judges assume roles as
general contractor, owner and members of the design team to ask questions of
the presenters. Having the opportunity to walk the exhibit floor proved
advantageous in answering these questions. Will explained one of the booths
that stood out to them: “Carson brought it up during our question phase of the
presentation. It was a paver system with pedestals that could move at different
degrees. So, it helped slope the roof when it was draining, which was cool.”
The team shared their excitement in gaining exposure to the
roofing industry through this competition. When asked what they were looking
for in prospective employers, they all agreed that having a work life balance
was important. Team member Caleb Borton added, “I think the culture is what
matters to me the most. If we have people that we work with that we like, I
want to be there. That’s all. It’s all about the people.”
Registration for the 2024-25 Construction Management
Student Competition will be available this summer. Watch Colorado State
University’s full interview below and visit the RoofersCoffeeShop YouTube channel to view
videos from the other 2024 competing teams here.
