Two from Construction Management Club win titles

Members of the Construction Management Club at South Dakota State University turned in impressive performances competing against their peers at the Minnesota Construction Association Leadership Training Academy April 23.

Winning individual contests were Nick Jensen, a senior from Sioux Falls, in job interview and Ryan Hanson, a senior from Hastings, Minnesota, in table topics. Haley Srock, a sophomore from Brandon, finished in second in table topics.

In the job interview contest, students interviewed for an entry level position at Kraus Anderson Construction.

In the table topics contest, students received a topic and spoke on it for one to two minutes without preparation. They receive on-the-spot feedback on speaking skills and learned to think on their feet." 

In “The Pursuit” competition, student capstone teams submitted a proposal to build and provide construction management services for a 30,000-square foot medical clinic building in downtown Minneapolis and then presented their proposal at the event. SDSU finished second overall in The Pursuit with a first place finish in the presentation portion. 

A judge from Ryan Companies, the sponsor for The Pursuit, commented, “I also want to note that we were very impressed with the materials and presentation SDSU prepared for this year’s competition. The team was professional and it was clear they took the time to understand the project in depth. They also did a great job answering our questions.”

Members of The Pursuit team were seniors Bryce Edens, of Tipton, Iowa; Matt Moen, of Sisseton; Tell Mollman, of Lemmon; Abby Sorensen, of Worthington, Minnesota; Aidan Ortmeier, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota; Hanson and Jensen.

Jensen remarked, “This experience was a great way to showcase the talent that SDSU’s construction management program brings to the table. Working as a team to create a project proposal is a great way to practice these real-world scenarios. This was a great opportunity to network with students from other schools, and industry professionals so that we can stay up to date with current construction topics and best practices.”

Sorensen added, “It was inspiring to see construction management students step into leadership conversations, support one another and take pride in representing SDSU. I was proud to see our capstone team’s preparation and dedication come together during The Pursuit and equally proud of the club members who took advantage of the leadership training opportunity.”

In the quiz bowl, where students were tested on everything from estimating to electrical systems, SDSU placed second. Members were Paul Moriarty, a senior from Brookings; Eli Flanigan, a junior from Pierre; Max Cofield, a sophomore from Edina, Minnesota; and Anders Sandro, a junior from Hendricks, Minnesota.

SDSU had a total of 15 participants at the event, the largest of any the seven colleges participating.