Watch College Student Teams Compete for First Place at IRE 2023

By Kaitlin Schuler, International Roofing Expo. 

Six student teams will present their roofing proposal for the Globe Life Field in Dallas at this year’s Construction Management Student Competition. 

At the beginning of the year, the Roofing Alliance announced the six student teams who will be competing at the Construction Management Student Competition at the 2023 International Roofing Expo. On Wednesday, March 8, the finalists will present their project proposals in front of professional judges. 

The Roofing Alliance Construction Management Student Competition seeks to test students on roofing knowledge, project management expertise and presentation skills. Each year, Roofing Alliance leaders select a roofing project in the city where IRE is to be held. 

This year’s project is Globe Life Field in Dallas, Texas. Teams are tasked with researching the chosen project, submitting a qualified bid package proposal and completing an oral presentation. This final presentation must illustrate their roofing, project management, estimating and safety knowledge. 

To be eligible for the competition, each team member must be an undergraduate enrolled in the college or university he or she will represent. The first-place team will receive a team trophy, a $5,000 L.B. Conway scholarship for their school and individual trophies for each team member. 

In 2022, Texas A&M University took home first place for their proposal for the Four Points Sheraton Hotel project on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Challenges for the project included the logistics of working on a famed street in New Orleans while the hotel remains operational and the special attention needed for a section of the roof used by the New Orleans Police Department to monitor Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras festivities. 

For 2022-2023, finalist teams were also invited to attend the Roofing Alliance’s welcome reception at IRE, tour the Globe Life Field project and attend NRCA’s industry awards ceremony and cocktail reception, where the winning teams will be recognized onstage. 

The 2022-2023 schools and their team mentors include: 

• Bradley University | Peoria, Illinois 

• Team mentor: Doug Duncan, Nations Roof | Villa Park, Illinois 

• California Polytechnic University | San Luis Obispo, California 

• Team mentor: Rudy Gutierrez, Shell Roofing Solutions | Chino, California 

• Clemson University | Clemson, South Carolina 

• Team mentor: Will Fort, Bone Dry Roofing | North Charleston, South Carolina 

• Colorado State University | Fort Collins, Colorado 

• Team mentor: Kent Nelson, Front Range Roofing Systems | Greeley, Colorado 

• Texas A&M University | College Station, Texas 

• Team mentors: Lance Van Winkle and Kyle Cahill, King of Texas Roofing Company | Grand Prairie, Texas 

• University of Florida | Gainesville, Florida 

• Team mentor: Rob Springer, Springer-Peterson Roofing & Sheet Metal | Eaton Park, Florida 

Learn more about IRE in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.theroofingexpo.com 

About Kaitlin Schuler 

Kaitlin Schuler is editor of Roofing & Exteriors, bringing nearly a decade of experience as an editor and journalist to her role. Prior to joining Informa, she served as special projects editor for Professional Remodeler magazine and, previously, editor for the American Nuclear Society. Schuler earned a master's in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a bachelor's in English from the University of Michigan. She lives and works in southwest Michigan and can be reached at kaitlin.schuler@informa.com.