ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Roofing Alliance has announced the date and location of its 2018-2019 Construction Management Student Competition.

Celebrating its fifth competition, students will compete on Feb. 12, 2019 at the 2019 International Roofing Expo (IRE) in Nashville.

This year’s competition will be the largest to date featuring a total of 12 teams from distinguished universities across the nation. Each team is comprised of four talented undergraduates enrolled in the construction management program at their respective universities. 

Bennett Judson, executive director of the Roofing Alliance, said she is excited to see the growing interest from universities that the competition continues to draw.

“This is the largest number of schools we’ve had participate,” she said. “And, we have a total of six new teams joining us this year.”

The new schools joining the competition are:

• Bradley University, Peoria, Ill.
• Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
• Minnesota State University, Mankato, Department of Construction, Mankato, Minn.
• Mississippi State University, Building Construction Science, Mississippi State, Miss.
• Oregon State University, School of Civil and Construction Engineering, Corvallis, Ore.
• University of Louisiana at Monroe, School of Construction Management, Monroe, La.

They will be joining the following returning schools:

• Auburn University, The McWhorter School of Building Science, Auburn, Ala. (winner of the 2018 competition)
• Colorado State University, Department of Construction, Fort Collins, Colo.
• Louisiana State University, Department of Construction, Baton Rouge, La.
• Tuskegee University, Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science, Tuskegee, Ala.
• University of Cincinnati, College of Engineering and Applied Science, Construction Management, Cincinnati, Ohio
• University of Florida, M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, Gainesville, Fla.

The construction management student competition is designed to test the students on their roofing knowledge, project management capabilities and presentation skills. This year, the teams are tasked with submitting a qualified bid package for installing a new roof system for the Hilton Franklin Cool Springs Hotel in Franklin, Tenn. Judges will review the written proposals, submitted Dec. 10, and select four teams as finalists for the competition. The Roofing Alliance will announce the finalists in January 2019.

The final leg of the competition will take place the morning of Feb. 12. The four finalist teams will participate in a 15-minute oral presentation at the Music City Center in Nashville. The purpose of this presentation is for each team to summarize their proposal and provide their construction management strategy for the project. Later that evening, the winning teams and the Best Individual Presenter will be announced at NRCA’s Industry Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Reception. The first- and second-place teams will be awarded $5,000 and $2,500 in scholarship funds for their schools, respectively. 

Kyle Thomas, co-chair of the Alliance Construction Management Schools Initiative Committee, said he sees this event as an open door to introduce roofing to a new generation. 

“We’ve known for years that the students graduating out of these construction management programs often have very limited exposure and education related to roofing,” he said. “This program provides an opportunity for these students to learn about the many facets of the roofing business. We certainly hope that some of the students become interested enough to pursue a career in the roofing industry.  But even for those who go the more traditional route and choose to work for a general contractor, they will have a much better understanding of the roofing portion of the projects that they will be working on.”

Hannah Redifer, a recent graduate from Auburn University who is now employed in the construction industry, participated in last year’s competition where her team won along with Redifer receiving the Best Individual Presenter Award. Her experience exposed her to the inner workings of the roofing industry, presented her with many networking opportunities and made a positive impact in her new career.

“I definitely left the competition and expo with a huge sense of respect for the roofing industry,” said Redifer.  “It is a tough job and the industry’s ability to complete these jobs while keeping people safe and happy is really amazing.”

Learn more about the Construction Management Student Competition and how to attend at www.roofingindustryalliance.net or contact Bennett Judson, the Roofing Alliance’s executive director, at bjudson@nrca.net.