NCCER and Build Your Future Celebrate CICM Scholarship and Contest Winners
ALACHUA, Fla. — The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) and its Build Your Future (BYF) initiative concluded the celebration of its tenth annual Careers in Construction Month (CICM). NCCER and BYF are excited to announce the winners of the Careers in Construction Month proclamation drawing, pledge scholarships and the winners of the BUILT THIS! video contest.
Throughout October, BYF encouraged the community to get involved in spreading public awareness of construction careers and inspire the next generation of craft professionals. This year, CICM had 45 states and U.S. territories file for proclamations, 132 industry and education organizations pledging to connect with students, and several great video submissions.
Representatives from participating states asked their governor to proclaim October as Careers in Construction Month. After receiving an official proclamation, state representatives were entered into a raffle to win awesome prizes and BYF resources.
Congratulations to:
- Mississippi resident — Katie McCrary from McCrary-West Construction.
- Virginia resident — Courtney Baker from AGCVA.
- Michigan resident — Cathy Geiger from ABC Greater Michigan.
Educators and industry members also took the Careers in Construction Month Pledge to make meaningful connections in October, with a chance to win one of four $5,000 scholarships to use in support of craft training. The pledging organizations who were selected are:
- Industry — Worley
- Industry — ABC Texas Gulf Coast
- Education — Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical School
- Education — Cold Hollow Career Center Construction Technology
The industry pledge winners donated their scholarships to local secondary training programs. Worley awarded the scholarship to Dobyns-Bennett High School. ABC Texas Gulf Coast presented the scholarship to five worthy programs: Columbia High School, Danbury High School, Angleton High School, Sweeny High School and Brazosport Independent School District.
In addition, the eighth annual I BUILT THIS! contest concluded recently. The contest took on an exciting new twist this year, utilizing Instagram Reels and TikTok for secondary and postsecondary students and trainees to showcase the building project they have worked on.
NCCER and BYF congratulate the winners of this year’s contest:
- Grace McInnis of Tulsa Technology Center (Secondary category)
- Valerie Peterson of Hawkeye Community College (Postsecondary category)
- Bowen Philips of Mooresville High School (People’s Choice).
A special thank you to the 2022 I BUILT THIS! prize sponsors: DEWALT, Carhartt, Ariat Crew and Pearson. This year’s winners will receive tools, gift cards, apparel, NCCER and BYF swag and more. The associated school will also receive a winner display banner and a classroom book set from NCCER/Pearson.
To see more details about I BUILT THIS! and the winning videos from this year, visit www.byf.org/i-built-this.
About NCCER — NCCER is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) education foundation created by the construction industry to develop standardized curriculum and assessments with portable credentials and certifications to help develop skilled craft professionals NCCER provides a comprehensive workforce development system that includes training, assessment, certification and career development solutions for the construction and maintenance industries. For more information, visit www.nccer.org or contact NCCER customer service at 888.622.3720.
About Build Your Future – Build Your Future (BYF) is NCCER’s national image enhancement and recruitment initiative for the construction industry. Its mission is to recruit the next generation of craft professionals by making career and technical education a priority in secondary schools, shifting negative public perception about careers in the construction industry and providing a path from ambition, to training, to job placement as a craft professional. BYF provides a number of resources to assist industry, education and military organizations in achieving these goals, including a parent and educator focused website: discover.byf.org. For more information, visit www.byf.org.