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In the tough and gritty world of construction, paper dolls would seem to be as out of place as steel-toed boots at a ballet performance. However, when four construction management students attended a recent skills competition, paper doll construction was among the activities.

Of course, the South ��ֱ���� State University students weren’t putting dresses or bonnets on their dolls. In fact, their dolls weren’t even what Pinterest would call paper dolls.

Their paper dolls were cut-out, scaled pieces of paper that represented tilt-up concrete panels on cast-on-site projects. The students and 16 others from other Midwest universities were taking part in the Region 4 Skills Summit sponsored by the Associated Schools of Construction.

The competition was held Oct. 21-23 at Lied Lodge in Nebraska City in conjunction with the organization’s team-focused skills competition.

A chance to learn

In the skills summit, participants are randomly assigned to a team, given a problem and then judged on their presentation and solution. It is designed to familiarize students with the format and environment for participation in future skill competitions.

Ryan Hanson, a construction management junior, said, “SDSU used to participate in these activities .... Since I joined the Construction Management Club at SDSU, I have wanted to participate in a competition but did not know where to get started. 

“After reaching out to the University of Northern Iowa club, they mentioned we should attend the ASC (Associated Schools of Construction) Competition and spectate to see how things were run.”

Hanson said he didn’t come away disappointed.

“Compared to the main event, the skills summit breaks the university students into different teams so that no school is able to work all together. This helps promote and encourage students to get out of their comfort zone and learn to work with others. 

“One of the specific skills I gained was learning the benefits of planning and scheduling. At SDSU you do not take the planning and scheduling class until your junior or senior year, and being exposed to it earlier is beneficial for this type of competition.”

Project: A gun range building

Hanson traveled to the contest with fellow construction management majors Tyler Massey and Emily Sample, both juniors, and Sydney Klein, a sophomore, as well as department head Julian Kang.

Skills summit participants were tasked with developing and presenting a comprehensive construction plan for a gun range building using tilt-up construction technologies. In this method, concrete panels are cast on-site with the slabs then hoisted into final position. The paper doll model helps project managers visualize panel placement.

At the skills summit, students worked with Lithko Contracting, a specialty concrete contractor.

Hanson said, “Consequently, the hands-on experience was very specific to its industry. However, most of the skills summit preparation was hands-on in which we were annotating drawings, solving estimations and learning to read drawings. We also learned the concept of how to plan out tilt-up wall panels using a paper doll for that specific type of building.”

Better prepared for 2025

Students were introduced to the project on the morning of the opening session. They had eight hours to work on their presentations, which were turned in at 9 p.m. and then presented at 8 a.m. the following day.

Hanson was on the winning team while Massey and Sample were on the second-place team. But unlike the student competition, the biggest draw for skills summit participants is not where they place, but what they learn.

Massey said, “Competing in the skills summit, we learned what to expect from judges in regard to what questions they will ask and what they are looking for from us. This will help us better prepare for next year’s (student) competition.”

Kang said, “This year’s success reflects the SDSU Department of Construction and Concrete Industry Management’s renewed commitment to Associated Schools of Construction competitions. Ryan’s advocacy for student participation in national events and our dedication to providing resources demonstrate SDSU’s support for experiential learning.”

Pays off in classroom too

Sample said her time at the skills summit is already starting to pay dividends.

“I feel much more confident now. When returning to class, I noticed that my experience in the summit helped me understand the processes we do in class much more. I started making more connections with the real-world situation and classroom examples.”

Klein had some advice for her construction management classmates about the skills summit.

“Go in with an open mind. There is a lot to learn in the construction world, and this skills summit can be very beneficial in allowing you to truly see what jobs you can have within the industry.”