Nebraska City, NE – Students from Missouri State University’s Department of Technology and Construction Management (TCM) placed first overall in the 2023 Construction Management Student Competition hosted by Region 4 of the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC). ASC is an international organization of post-secondary schools that are dedicated to construction management education and research.
The competition, the 29th annual event, included five different divisions in the following areas: Commercial – General Contracting, Commercial – CM at Risk, Design-Build, Heavy/Civil, and Electrical Construction. Each division is sponsored by one or more corporate partners who not only create the problem statement but also serve as judges for the competition. Twenty-two teams competed in the three-day event from seven different universities in the upper mid-west including Kansas State, Iowa State, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and others.
Missouri State students placed in three of the four divisions in which they competed. The student-led and faculty-coached teams took first place in the Design-Build division, first place in the Electrical Contracting division, and second place in the Heavy/Civil division. Overall, Missouri State was the only school to bring home more than one first-place award and received the most overall points.
Assistant Clinical Professor Dustin Steiro said, “The students put in the work, and it showed.”
In addition to the primary student competition, this was the second year that ASC hosted a Student Summit event with modified problem statements that are geared towards underclassmen. While the teams are mixed between schools, Missouri State was again able to achieve outstanding results as the top three teams all included students from the TCM Department.
Maggie Hackenwerth, an Interior Design senior who helped lead the Design-Build team, commented, “I don’t think I could have been put with a better team to work with. Our first-place finish is a direct result of not only the weeks of pre-competition preparation but also the strong collaboration of our team.”
Interestingly, the results from this year could be a positive sign for the future as well. Out of the 30 total student participants, 15 were underclassmen and 21 had never competed in a student competition before.
Congratulations to all our students on a job well done! #BearBuilt
