Local high school students make an impact at regional construction competition

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – Two local high school students won scholarships and one Santa Maria High School student won Construction Manager of the Year at The Southern California Construction Industry Education Foundation's 38th annual Design Build Competition at Golden West College in Huntington Beach last month.

Teams from high schools, trade schools and colleges competed for scholarships and recognition for their skills in designing and building structures that will be donated to their communities.

Righetti High's Alex Angeles Denis and Santa Maria High's Brandon Olea both won $1,500 scholarships and Santa Maria High School student Miguel Velasquez won the Construction Manager of the Year award.

“I did not realize how hard it is to keep a crew on task to get the job done when working under the pressure of timelines, dealing with weather, and standing inspections. It was a much bigger and harder job than I thought it was going to be. It really made me want to be a construction manager in the future because it was a great feeling to design, plan and produce a project to a successful completion.” said Velasquez.

The Mark Richardson Career Technical Education Center and Ag Farm Building and Construction Team fielded 15 members that competed at the Mar. 22 and 23 competition.

Building and Construction Teacher Glen Holmes said, “I couldn’t be prouder of this year’s team and especially Miguel Velasquez. With his leadership our team was able to overcome a huge disadvantage as we did not have the opportunity to practice together as a team, in fact, there were many members on our team that had never met prior to the competition and Miguel did such a good job of leading that he stood out above all other project managers. I had many industry professionals as well as instructors from other schools complement me on his skills. He is a natural leader. We also took home 40% of the senior scholarships that were awarded which was absolutely incredible. I did not think that we would be able to eclipse last year’s Rookie Team of the Year Award, but our students far exceeded my expectations. This year’s Design Build Team has most definitely helped build the legacy of the Building and Construction Program as well as provide a pathway of opportunities for future students of our program.”