I traveled from Chico to Reno and checked into our hotel room. There were four of us in the group, split between two connecting rooms.
At dinner in the convention hall, we saw what we’d come for.
Hundreds of students from schools around the country had gathered. Everyone in suit and tie. Across the front of the room, banners bearing the logos of construction companies hung from a row of tables.
An announcer stood at the head of the buffet.
“Eat up. We have a Vegas-style buffet for you tonight.”
He gestured toward the silver trays lining the tables. Salads, prime rib, even lobster tails.
“Tomorrow, the real work begins.”
~
I woke early.
After breakfast, I followed my instructions to one of the conference rooms. Students moved through the hotel halls in every direction, heading to their own meetings. I nodded to some. Kept my eyes down as I passed others.
At last, I found my door.
Three executives sat around a conference table. Red carpet covered the floor, and a projector displayed a construction company’s logo behind them.
They introduced themselves. Then one of them began.
“We have a project that’s gone sideways. The project manager handling the electrical scope quit on us last week. He took his notes with him. Now we’re behind schedule, and we’re basically starting from nothing.”
He slid a thick yellow envelope across the table.
“A copy of the estimate. It should give you a place to start, but it’s just an estimate. You’ll need to verify that the numbers are accurate.”
Then he rolled a set of plans toward us.
“To keep this project on track, I need updated costs, man-loaded schedules, and full binders of submittals on my desk by nine tomorrow morning.”
We looked at one another, gathered our materials, and headed for the door.
The next group of students was already waiting outside.
~
Back in the hotel room, John flipped one of the beds onto its side.
“I did this last year, too. Everyone, put your things on the other side. This room is now our office.”
I grabbed the other mattress, clenching its thick fabric between my fingers, and hauled it across the room. Then we took apart the bed frames.
After a phone call, two hotel staff members arrived with folding tables and chairs.
Laptops came out of backpacks.
Plans spread across the floor.
Hours passed.
Sandwich wrappers and soda bottles filled the trash can. We covered the mirrors and windows with marker notes: colors, quantities, cost figures.
“Wait.”
It was Cuddy.
“This project is in San Francisco, right? I believe they require fire-alarm cable to be in conduit.”
Stone grabbed the estimate and flipped through the pages.
“It’s not here.”
I paged through the plans, found a scale, and measured the run.
“Five hundred feet should cover it.”
Then I grabbed the cost book.
A knock came at the door.
One of the executives from that morning stood outside, a roll of plans under her arm.
“The owner has requested some changes.”
She set the plans on a table.
“Find the differences and include the revisions.”
I looked at the clock.
“Do we get more time?”
She laughed.
“That’s not how it works.”
Then she left.
Pizza arrived soon after. We kept working.
By ten, I was working on the schedule. By two in the morning, we were labeling sheets and organizing them into binders.
By four, some of us had started falling asleep.
When finished, we stood around for a moment, admiring them.
“I think that’s it. Three hours of rest, then we prepare for the morning.”
The lights went out.
~
Students still moved in every direction down the halls. Only, they all had bags under their eyes.
Our conference room was easier to find this this time, but the door felt heavier when I tried to open it.
The same three executives sat inside—morning coffees in hand, a bagel bar along the wall.
“Let’s see what you have.”
Then questions came, one after another.
“How long did you figure to install the—”
“In San Francisco, fire alarms need conduit.”
Cuddy smiled.
“Did you notice the changed lighting required additional circuits, breakers, and conduit?”
Stone nodded.
“And they didn’t just add more lights. Some of the distribution equipment was changed as well.”
He slid over one of the binder.
“It’s all inside.”
The executive flipped it open, it stopped near the first page, at a printout of the schedule.
“Who’s the superintendent on this?”
I raised my hand.
“Is this schedule realistic?”
“It’s tight. I did a forward pass and a backward pass. You only have a day or two of float, and we’ll need a crew of sixteen during the peak.”
The executive looked up.
“What if we worked weekends?”
I felt my eyes go wide.
Instead, I took a breath.
“I don’t know. But if you give me a few hours, I can find out.”
He shook his head.
“It’s fine.”
The questions continued. Then, before I knew it, I was standing outside the conference room as the next group filed in behind us.
~
Three hours later, we were back in the main convention hall.
The dinner plates and buffet tables from the night before were gone. A small stage had been erected at the front.
The room filled. Then they began announcing the winners.
Earthwork.
Structural steel.
Architectural finishes.
Electrical.
“Third place. Texas A&M.”
Applause. Then a group stuff and walked in stage.
“Second place. Sacramento State.”
More applause. Another group.
“And in first place.”
A pause.
CSU Chico. My name. John, Cuddy, Stone.
“Come on.”
John was waving me over.
I followed him onto the stage.