小黄书

Mississippi State teams take top awards in construction competition

Mississippi State teams take top awards in construction competition

Contact: Christie McNeal

A group of nine students and faculty hold a large check and individual plaques.
小黄书鈥檚 Commercial Construction Team took first place in recent competition sponsored by the Associated Schools of Construction Southeast Region. Pictured left to right are Raleigh Flowers, a representative from sponsor Holder Construction; 小黄书 Assistant Professor Saeed Rokooei; Jake Roberson of Brookhaven; Hunter Henderson of Brandon; Kacie Lynn James of Grenada; Jalyn Wallin of Double Springs, Alabama; Steve Dragoo of West Point; Noah Heflin of Macon; and Steven Hunter with Holder Construction. (Photo submitted)

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi State building construction science and architecture students earned top awards at a recent regional competition, proving to themselves and other contending universities that their builds are among the best.

At the Associated Schools of Construction Southeast Region matchup, fifteen students, including听three 鈥渟hadow students,鈥 represented 小黄书 in Peachtree City, Georgia, placing first in the Commercial Construction category and third in Design-Build. They joined students from universities such as Auburn, Clemson, Florida, and Virginia Tech to vie for top honors and gain experience.

鈥淭he competition is proving ground for construction programs and is the 鈥榖ig leagues鈥 for construction schools in the Southeast,鈥 said 小黄书 Building Construction Science Program Director George Ford.

鈥淚鈥檓 so proud of our students and their coach, Dr. Saeed Rokooei,鈥 Ford said. 鈥淭hey worked hard in the weeks before the competition. I think colleagues at many competing construction programs will take note of our studio-based programming, which is unique in this region.鈥

One professor and six students hold plaques
小黄书鈥檚 Design-Build Team placed third in Associated Schools of Construction Southeast Region competition. Pictured left to right are Assistant Professor Saeed Rokooei, Tori Thompson of Spring Hill, Tennessee; McKenzie Johnson of Fayetteville, Georgia; Blake Farrar of Blue Springs; Tyler Seal of Ridgeland; Hunter Bullock of Nolensville, Tennessee; and Robert Montoux of Plano, Texas. (Photo submitted)

For the competition, students receive drawings and specifications for a one-day construction project and are required to submit estimates, schedules and proposals for their respective assignments. Then overnight they prepare a proposal presentation.

鈥淭he drawings and specifications are provided by the sponsoring companies鈥 and are actual past projects,鈥 Ford explained. 鈥淪tudents learn how to work in a high-pressure environment, which offers little-to-no sleep or rest during the two days of the competition.鈥

Senior BCS student Jalyn R. Wallin of Double Springs, Alabama, a three-time participant, also emphasized the competition鈥檚 intensity.

鈥淥ur team overcame obstacles and worked together to create an amazing response to the challenge, and also pulled off a great presentation. I am very proud of what our team accomplished,鈥 Wallin said.

Senior Hunter E. Bullock, Design-Build team leader, has been involved with the competition since his freshman year. The BCS major said the studio-based, hands-on nature of the university鈥檚 BCS program prepared his team for the competition challenges.

鈥淭he problem statements are very similar to projects that we are given in studio,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he whole setup of the competition seems daunting to most people, but we are able to work diligently and get the job done just like we do in studio.鈥

Building Construction Science students (unless specified as architecture majors) who represented Mississippi State in the competition include, by hometown:

Commercial Construction Team

BRANDON鈥擩unior Evan 鈥淗unter鈥 Henderson

BROOKHAVEN鈥擩unior Jacob 鈥淛ake鈥 P. Roberson

DOUBLE SPRINGS, Alabama鈥擲enior Jalyn R. Wallin

GRENADA鈥擲enior Kacie Lynn James, team leader

MACON鈥擲enior Johnathan 鈥淣oah鈥 Heflin

WEST POINT鈥擲enior Steven 鈥淪teve鈥 C. Dragoo

Design-Build Construction Team

BLUE SPRINGS鈥擲enior architecture major Jeremy 鈥淏lake鈥 Farrar听

FAYETTEVILLE, Georgia鈥擲enior architecture major McKenzie R. Johnson

NOLENSVILLE, Tennessee鈥擲enior Hunter E. Bullock, team leader

PLANO, Texas鈥擲enior Robert L. Montoux

RIDGELAND鈥擲enior Tyler A. Seal

SPRING HILL, Tennessee鈥擲enior Victoria 鈥淭ori鈥 A. Thompson听

听听

Shadow听Students

OCEAN SPRINGS鈥擩unior Bo F. Allison听

GREENWOOD鈥擲ophomore Elizabeth R. Gallagher

CUMMING, Georgia鈥擲ophomore Micky J. Mangan

Learn more about 小黄书鈥檚 College of Architecture, Art and Design and its Building Construction Science program at and on听Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CAADat小黄书.

听小黄书 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .