Electrical contracting firm challenged students with real-world situation tied to pandemic
SAN JOSE, CA – Rosendin is proud to recognize students from California Polytechnical State University (Cal Poly) for their award-winning presentation at the 2021 Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Student Competition Regions 6 and 7. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the contest to be held virtually Feb. 3-6 and directly impacted the theme of Rosendin’s Electrical Challenge.
The annual ASC Student Competition challenges top college teams to present solutions to complex construction problems in one of 12 categories, including commercial, electrical, sustainability, and design-building.
Cal Poly’s team took first place in the Electrical Challenge which was developed and judged by Rosendin based on a real-world scenario that occurred during the early days of the pandemic. Teams from Oregon State University and Brigham Young University ranked second and third.
Rosendin’s Electrical Challenge required students to work together in a high-pressure situation to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) for a multi-year, mixed-use campus project in San Francisco while working around a shelter in place order. The goal was for the student teams to develop a creative way to build the project while confronted with extreme challenges and restrictions.
“The students were presented with a scaled-down example of a real-world project and we challenged them to present a proposal on how to build this project under the restrictions of the pandemic,” said Brandon Stephens, Rosendin Operations Manager and ASC judge. “We applaud all the teams for their hard work and are especially proud of Cal Poly for displaying outstanding teamwork, planning, and adaptability.”
Stephens is among several Rosendin judges who also competed at the ASC Student Competition while in college.
“The transition from being a shy competing student to a problem-sponsoring judge has come full circle,” said Mark Stone, Rosendin Project Manager and ASC judge. “Words cannot express how gratifying the opportunity has been, and I am grateful to give back to the program that helped shape my career forever. “If it weren’t for ASC, I probably wouldn’t be here today, so my goal is to continue to provide the same experience and opportunity to the future leaders of our industry.”
“I’ve been involved with the ASC Competition since 2013 when I first competed as a sophomore in college,” said Rob Clark, Rosendin Project Manager and ASC judge. “That is how I was first introduced to Rosendin and met my future colleagues, so you could say the ASC Competition is when my career at Rosendin started.”
In addition to the meaningful challenge, the annual ASC Competition is also an important recruiting pipeline for many companies in the construction industry seeking summer interns and the brightest employees. Seeing the San Luis Obispo team take first place meant a lot to Rosendin’s Vice President of Engineering Ron Wilson, P.E., who graduated from Cal Poly in 1986.
“It makes me so proud to see the university’s commitment to the ASC Student Competition. It’s the students’ Super Bowl, their chance to stand out to potential employers, and Cal Poly fully supports its team every year,” stated Wilson.
The ASC’s 34th annual regional competition attracted over 258 top graduate and undergraduate college students and 43 faculty coaches from 18 universities across the country.
For more information, visit: www.rosendin.com.
