The Department of Construction Management and Design at Southeast Missouri State University will compete in a student competition for the Associated Schools of Construction.

This is a competition that is held at the end of October in Nebraska. They will be up against 13 other schools running all through the north region.

There are two teams of six that have been placed into two different divisions, the commercial division and design building division.

“The design building division is a little harder because you're designing a building as you go on with a day process,” Jorden Richardson, senior in the construction management department, said.

The construction management team will leave Wednesday, Oct. 25, and be back late on Saturday, Oct. 29.

The students have been given a general idea of what they can expect at the competition. They have been given a general project of what they will be bidding on.

“It’s like construction companies bidding on a project,” Kevin McMeel, professor in the Department of Polytechnic Studies in the construction management design program, said.

Students will not find out what the project will be until 6 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26. Once they find out what the project is they will be locked in their hotel rooms all day. In their hotel rooms they must come up with a solution and price, which they will have to make a presentation on and present it on Friday.

“I am a little nervous going into the competition because we have to present to eight judges, but we did good last year and we’re getting better each year,” Drew Shores, president of the Construction Management Organization, said.

“I am confident in our teams,” McMeel said. “We have good people with good knowledge, they just have to put it all together and go from there.” McMeel said.

The teams have been meeting twice a week as a class.

“There has been a lot of preparation put into this by the students,” McMeel said. The professors will be at the competition to drive the students but cannot have any involvement once they get there.”

This competition is put on by real construction companies. Once the competition portion is finished, they have a mini career fair for all the students who were involved.

“Last year our students received many job offers,” McMeel said.

In the past the commercial team has had success in the competition. Last year they got second place and the year before that the team received third place in the competition.

“We’re hoping to do even better this year,” McMeel said.

The design building team has come in fourth place the past couple years.

“This is a lot tougher division because were going up against schools like Iowa State and Kansas City.” “Those are the two big schools that always seem to win,” Richardson said. They have a program that is 10 times bigger than ours. SEMO usually does very well in the competition even though we're a small organization.