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Penn State places second at National Association of Home Builders competition

The 2019 Penn State NAHB Student Competition team with Pennsylvania Housing Research Center staff on the IBS stage after winning second place. Pictured, left to right, are Tracy Dorman; David Gawryla; Christopher Hine; Matthew Yerk; Mark DuBree, Jr; Kristin Roy; Jonathan Gottlieb; Drew Kreamer; Justin Charles; Lauren Lesniakowski; James Porter; Rachel Fawcett; and Brian Wolfgang. Credit: ConventionPhotosAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) student chapter at Penn State placed second in the Four-Year College category of the NAHB Student Competition, held Feb. 18-20 at the 2019 NAHB International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas.

Fifty-seven teams representing universities, community colleges, high schools and career technical schools across the United States participated in the annual competition. The competition challenges student teams to solve a real-life construction-management problem and develop a proposal for a residential subdivision. After developing their solutions in the fall semester, teams travel and present their work to a panel of residential construction industry executive judges at the International Builders’ Show during the spring semester.

“Congratulations to the NAHB student chapter at Penn State,” said NAHB CEO Jerry Howard. “They and their competitors showed a great deal of talent along with a depth of understanding of building industry management, from land development to marketing to scheduling to estimating.”

The provided competition site was a 152-acre tract in Coweta, Oklahoma. The Penn State team developed a 100-page proposal for a subdivision containing 290 single-family homes that included six different floorplans built to meet the silver rating from the National Green Building Standard and a HERS Index score of 68 for the base package mid-line home. The proposal also included thoroughly vetted market, financial and risk analyses and a land development plan. Requiring an interdisciplinary team of students to address the various aspects, the project team consisted of students majoring in architecture, architectural engineering, civil engineering, corporate innovation and entrepreneurship, and finance.

The 2018-19 presentation team included: Lauren Lesniakowski, architectural engineering, as project manager; Drew Kreamer, architectural engineering; Justin Charles, architectural engineering; Mark DuBree Jr., corporate innovation and entrepreneurship; David Gawryla, architectural engineering; and James Porter, finance.

Additional team members included: Jonathan Gottlieb, civil engineering; Kristin Roy, architecture; and Matthew Yerk, architectural engineering.

Students appreciated the ability to work across disciplines and gain experience in the residential construction industry.

“With much of my engineering background being based in commercial building design, it was such a blessing to find the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center and NAHB student chapter at Penn State,” said Lesniakowski. “Being able to compete in such an involved residential project for the past two years has opened my eyes to all the potential career paths I could take with my education. The semester-long project combines disciplines from different departments, including students from the Smeal College of Business, multiple engineering departments within the College of Engineering, and even some involvement from the Eberly College of Science. This competition has given me invaluable skills in problem-solving and has given me the opportunity to expand on topics outside of my immediate major, such as marketing, finance, land development and real estate.”

The student team was coached by staff from the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center: Brian Wolfgang, associate director, and Chris Hine, housing and land development specialist. The Pennsylvania Housing Research Center is housed in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and supports the residential construction program at Penn State.

“Penn State’s competition team has been fortunate to build on the momentum that has been built up over the past few years,” said Wolfgang. "Our focus on a multidisciplinary approach has not only allowed students to work with peers outside of the major but has also allowed for a well-rounded approach to the competition overall. This project asks a lot of our students but we continue to hear feedback that the hard work the students put in on this project truly helps to strengthen the foundation for their future careers.”

The 2018-19 team travel support was generously provided by the Toll Brothers IBS Travel Grant, the National Housing Endowment IBS Travel Award, and the University Park Allocation Committee. The NAHB student chapter at Penn State has competed in the NAHB Student Competition since 2006, placing first in 2015 and 2018.

Last Updated March 13, 2019

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