Can you plan a project in 18 hours?  

More than 29 Missouri State University technology and construction management students worked to implement construction projects in an 18-hour window.  

This was part of the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) North Central Region’s annual competition in Nebraska City, Nebraska, Oct. 24-27.  

“Our teams enthusiastically prepared and met all of the competition challenges as a team,” said David Joswick, senior instructor of technology and construction management. “I am glad their hard work was rewarded.” 

Award-winning students 

Missouri State placed in three of the five categories at the competition:  

• Commercial renovation, first place 
• Specialty division, first place 
• Design-build decision, third place 

Levi Hargrove, a senior on the commercial renovation team, said the project started two months before the competition.   

“We created a company and added our safety history, our completed past projects, our current projects, resumes of each team member and what our roles would be,” Hargrove added.  

After the students arrived in Nebraska, it was nonstop work. Hargrove said they were up at 5 a.m. and didn’t get to sleep until after midnight.  

For Hargrove, it was all worth it — and not just for the first-place award. It was also getting to build something with his teammates. 

“I loved being part of a team and accomplishing something great together,” Hargrove said. “Our team worked hard. That victory is something we will have forever.” 

About the competition 

The judges gave each of the 30 teams plans and specifications from real-life projects. The teams had to manage their project. This included:  

• Scheduling 
• Creating estimates 
• Running cost analyses 
• Resolving management issues as they arose 

After the 18 hours ended, the teams presented their findings to the judges. Judges were from different areas of the construction industry.

Learn more about technology and construction management