Time Is Running Out to Apply for the Student Competition at IBS 2024
The annual NAHB Student Competition at the International Builders’ Show features some of the brightest young talents in construction presenting in front of some of the industry’s leading professionals. Competitors have the opportunity to apply their skills to a real construction company by completing a management proposal.
But for those who want to participate and have not yet applied, time is running out. The deadline to apply for the 2024 competition is Tuesday, Oct. 17.
“I think the student competition was a very good opportunity to showcase how our talent and previous work experiences came together,” said Mariah Stewart, who worked as a presenter and won at the 2022 IBS competition and placed third in 2023 with Tuskegee University. “It brought us as classmates together to work more efficiently and created a bond within our department.”
The student groups will compete in five categories:
- Production Home Building for four-year programs
- Production Home Building for graduate programs
- Custom/Small Build for four-year programs
- Secondary programs
- Associate programs
Stewart, who now works as a project manager for DPR Construction in Reston, Va., said 90% of her team was able to find a job or internship shortly after IBS.
“I think doing the competitions helped me focus on what I really wanted to do in my careers,” she said. “Now I work as a project engineer, and I’m doing a lot of the stuff that I helped with in the competition.”
Though traveling to IBS can be costly, many students have applied for and received financial assistance through the National Housing Endowment. The IBS Scholarship helps offset travel expenses for those participating in the show’s activities. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is also Oct. 17.
Student Competitions will be held live at the 2024 IBS Show in Las Vegas from Feb. 26-28.