One of ABC’s goals for the coming year is to strengthen its ties with the construction management program at the University of Washington. There are five ways in which members can become more involved with the program, its students and graduates:
1) ABC is hosting a pizza get-together on campus on Monday, October 20 to introduce ABC to the students at the beginning of their school year and to get members and students together to talk about internship opportunities. It is recommended that contractors send younger employees who can tell students what to expect when they graduate. The students are looking for paid internships, and vacation and summer employment. Contractors should be willing to invest in a student by providing pre-graduation employment. More details on this meeting will soon be available. Members can participate in the
Capstone Program for seniors. This is a culminating course designed for students to demonstrate proficiency in all the courses they have taken. Students select a real project and prepare a competitive proposal.
2) Volunteers from the industry are needed to
mentor the students as they prepare their project. This mentoring opportunity is available in April and May in pre-selected consulting times on campus.
3) Volunteers from industry are also needed to
participate as panelists to hear and critique the Capstone presentations. The three-hour sessions are held in early June in late afternoon and evening time slots on campus.
4) Members can make a
contribution in cash or in-kind to help complete the Pacific NW Center for Construction Research at Sandpoint. While the center will be in use this September, there is more to be done.
5) UW students participate in the
ABC National Student Chapter competition during the ABC convention in late February. The four-student team must prepare a bid, schedule, safety plan, etc. for a pre-selected project. The students then go to the convention to complete their work and the finalists make a formal presentation to a panel of judges.
The students would greatly benefit from having some mentors to help them prior to going to the convention.
ABC is creating a separate listing of members interested in becoming more involved with the UW program. If you are interested in being contacted about these activities and opportunities in the future, please contact Stacie Elledge at (425) 646-8000 or (800) 640-7789.
(P.S. We know there are CM programs at other universities, but because of geography, we can really only make a difference in the central Puget Sound area.)