By Alice Hale/reporter
The SE Campus construction management program brought home three awards from the annual International Builders’ Show in January.
Brandon Byram, Jared George and team captain Justin Steblay placed fifth in the National Residential Construction Management competition, George received the Outstanding Student Award and their team coach, Orlando Bagcal, received the Outstanding Educator award.
“I am so proud of the team,” Bagcal said. “They were very confident.”
More than 50 teams from four-year colleges, two-year colleges and secondary schools participated from across the United States.
The SE team prepared a package including a detailed estimate of the costs and products, a schedule and a complete drawing of its solution to a problem for developing a house located in Williston, Vt. After three months of preparation, the team orally presented its proposal to a panel of judges at the show in Las Vegas in January.
“We were all pretty nervous, but it went pretty well I thought,” Steblay said. “They asked some questions, and we answered them to the best of our ability. I think we held our ground pretty well.”
The team placed fifth out of the 16 teams within the two-year division.
“The judges even praised their work and how professional their package was and the way they presented it,” Bagcal said.
Bagcal nominated George for his award, which is based on different criteria including academic standings, involvement in a student chapter, community service and the student’s interest in a residential building career.
“As a coach, I am so happy,” Bagcal said.
Bagcal, who has a doctorate in civil engineering, has two years of experience in construction and has been an assistant professor and coordinator of the construction program at TCC for six years. The nominees for his educator’s award were selected based on their voluntary extracurricular activities and for their construction experience.
“He was very surprised,” Steblay said. “The look on his face when he won was pretty good.”
Bagcal has coached different teams in the competition since 2011 when his first team received Rookie of the Year. He believes the experience is good for his students because the event showcases businesses from around the world that students can learn from and interact with as they attend seminars and group discussions.
“There are people from China, Canada and Mexico … probably thousands of participants that come together,” he said.
Steblay has high hopes for students who join the program in the future.
“I hope to see Orlando and the [following] team win the whole thing in the next few years,” he said. “I was blessed to experience the competition, and that was all [Bagcal’s] doing. He’s a great instructor, and he is well-respected here.”
