By Saad Kazi
Long Beach State’s construction management department placed third in the Concrete Solutions category at the 2019 Associate Schools of Construction Student Competition in Sparks, Nevada Feb. 6-9.
LBSU’s concrete team was one of 12 teams that participated in the category. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, University of Washington and Virginia Tech were some of the other contenders.
“This was an opportunity to put our school on the map and to show other schools that CSULB is here to win,” team member Denis Anguillet said.
The concrete solutions track consisted of providing a budget, safety plan, logistics and a 3D model to create an efficient way to resolve a construction problem. The team of seven, most of which have little or no industry experience, practiced similar problems in preparation for the event.
Faculty coach Tariq Shehab called the award “a great achievement.” The civil engineering and construction management professor said he believed the success would not have been possible without “great preparation efforts and dedicated team members.”
Although LBSU’s construction management team has won awards in the past, this is the highest they have placed in the Concrete Solutions category.
“We all believed we had a good run but never thought we would be one of the top three teams of the competition,” Anguillet said. “This award was more than just an individual award but
more as a team effort. It paves the way for future teams to become successful
by having the resources and knowledge available to them.”
