On Jan. 20, a team of five students from the DU chapter of the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) was awarded first place at the 2016 NAHB Residential Construction Management Competition in Las Vegas. This is the first time that a team from DU has won the national competition.

DU’s team, made up of seniors Carlos Villar, Aaron Nguyen, Dylan Bunch and  Victoria Lund and sophomore Sarah Schulz, was formed by Barbara Jackson, the director of the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management.

Within the competition, each team is given information about a site that is going to be developed. They are then asked to create a proposal for the development including an executive summary, property description, market analysis, land development, construction operations, financial analysis and more. The final aspect of the competition is a presentation of the proposal.

The team from DU was assigned a development site in Frederick County, Maryland. In the months leading up to the competition, they spent many hours together in preparation.

“We had long days compiling everything together,” said Schulz, the only sophomore on the team. “We met with a lot of industry professionals, such as a developer in Green Valley Ranch who graduated from DU. We also met with someone at MetroStudy to get help finding out market data about the area we built in.”

In the past, a class has been offered to give teams time to prepare for the competition. This year, however, the class was cancelled and the team had to complete preparations in their free time. According to Schulz, this was just one of the obstacles they had to overcome.

“Winning was the biggest shock of my life. All the odds were against us; we had a team member drop last minute, we started the project late, we didn’t have a teacher helping us and we didn’t have a class time to meet,” said Schulz. “I can’t even describe how amazing the feeling was when we won. I will never forget it.”

According to Villar, captain of this year’s team, the competition provides beneficial experience regardless of the final team standings.

“This experience is such a great opportunity for students to learn about the residential construction management industry, meet with other students and network with companies looking for interns or graduates,” said Villar. “It helps you find your passion and helps set you apart for being a part of the competition.”

Villar said the win made the long hours of preparation worth it.

“As a senior, I saw it as a culmination of all the hard work I’ve put in the past three years at DU. All the late nights studying, group projects and office hour visits were all worth it.,” said Villar.

According to Schulz, being national champions will give the team members more than just bragging rights.

“Winning the NAHB student competition is the ultimate accomplishment for any student in this field of study. It will open so many opportunities for me to get internships,” said Schulz. “This is my first year participating in the competition and it definitely sets the bar high for us next year.”