Construction program gives students the tools to succeed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Hailey McLaughlin

Copy Editor

Students learn how to construct their future with help from professors currently working in the field, hands-on experiences and practical opportunities all through Hudson Valley Community College’s Construction Technology Program.

“Hudson Valley [Community College] has one of the best construction programs in the state for the tuition cost,” Zachary Nichols, a freshman in the program, said. “[It’s a] cheap, good program that offers a lot of opportunity once you complete it.”

“There isn’t any other construction programs that I’m aware of in the area [that are] two year,” Christine LaPlante, Ph.D., Civil, Construction, Industrial and Mechanical Technologies Department Chairperson, said.

“We build the whole building,” LaPlante explained. “So we don’t build a birdhouse [and] we don’t build a gazebo,” she said. “We build the house, to scale.”

Through the use of lectures and labs, students are able to put into action what they learn into real-life situations.

“[We] have a lecture for about an hour or two and the rest of the classes are a three-hour lab one day a week,” Nichols said.

“Most of my classes are structured so we learn about a topic in lecture, then try it out in lab,” Alexander Bubie explained.

According to LaPlante, every couple of years or so, Habitat for Humanity will ask the college to build houses for them. “When they need a house, we build the house in the lab and then we take the sections down and we ship it out to the place and students go as volunteers at the point to put it up on the site,” she explained. This allows students to work in real situations.

When they don’t have anywhere to bring the house, the students learn how to sustainably take down the parts, which is also an important thing to learn.

“You learn stuff that you’re actually going to use,” Nichols said. “You don’t just want to learn it to finish the class.”

According to LaPlante, all the faculty in the program work outside of school in the field. This helps the professors understand what is changing in the field and what is useful for the students to know, but helps make connections to provide students with a career when they begin looking for one.

“The best thing about the program would have to be the instructors,” Bubie said. “In the construction program, they seem to actually care about how the course is going and if they can change anything to help.”

“I find the professors are supportive of the students,” Christine Martinec Vlahides, construction student, said. “They’re engaged [and] they are high quality, leaders in their field,” she said.  Each one, of course, has their own style.”

“My professors are really good and they really like teaching the classes and really want you to understand the material so you will be set up for success,” John Fratianni said.

LaPlante explained how the program is always staying up to date. “The faculty adjusts to the new things involved in construction, so green and sustainable,” she said. “We stay current with the industry.”

Through the program, students have been dealt with a multitude of opportunities.

Martinec Vlahides, for example, was invited to join the Honors Society and in spring will travel to either China or New Zealand for engineering and technology for a week. She was chosen with 34 other students nationally to go.

Christopher Rowe, a construction student in his second year, explained how one of his professors already has a job set up for him once he graduated.

“When [students] go on, they’re still emailing me for jobs,” LaPlante explained. The construction program has a Facebook page where LaPlante will post job opportunities for students and alumni.

“They walk out of here with the ability to get ACI Level 1 certification, BPI which is Build and Performance, Analyst Certification, which is building science certification, and they have the knowledge to sit NICET [The National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies] at Level 1 and 2,” LaPlante said. Everyone needs the ACI and NICET certification to work in construction.

The program consists of men and women of all ages who want to learn about something they are interested in.

“I chose the construction program because when I was 14 I started working with my Boy Scout troop leader over the summers,” Bubie said. “He got me into the construction industry and helped me get some experience early on.”

“My husband has his own construction company and had asked me numerous times to learn how to estimate so that I could work with him,” Holly Sheldon, a construction student, said. “When my prior employer closed his business, the time seemed right and I asked around where other estimators had attended college,” she said.

“A few of them said they got their start at [Hudson Valley Community College] and that they had a great program,” Sheldon said. “I spoke with Dr. LaPlante, told her what my goals were and my journey began in the Construction [Technology Program].”

“I have an associates degree in science, I have a masters degree in communication with business, I have an MBA, I have considered for years going on for my doctorate and I decided not to do that, to go to school for something that interests me that I can get hands-on experience I can apply in the field of my choice,” Martinec Vlahides explained.

The courses the students take prepare them for what’s expected in the field, but the classes test their knowledge, logic and creativity.

“You wouldn’t drive over a bridge that was built by someone that wasn’t smart,” LaPlante said.

“On average I spent about 10 hours a week on homework or lab write-ups a week,” Bubie said.

“It all depends really how much you understand the material in class because if you get pretty well in class, there’s not much studying,” Rowe explained.

Martinec Vlahides explained how she joined a study group that met up each Sunday evening to study and work on assignments. She was also able to get a tutor that is affiliated with the school to help her study.

“My favorite thing is now that I have a basic knowledge, when my husband throws out some term that normally I would have [to] ask what he’s talking about and feel like a silly girl, I know what he’s talking about,” Sheldon said.

According to LaPlante, employers are desperate for employees. Hudson Valley Community College’s program has room to expand and want anyone, from any background to consider applying. The program offers day and evening classes to help accommodate any schedule.

“Even if you’re just curious in the construction industry, sit down and talk with [professors] or there are a lot of professors over there that have office hours or will meet with you outside of the workday,” Rowe said. “They’re just like an encyclopedia of knowledge if you have questions you can definitely ask.”