Builders may be scratching their heads on how to best engage young students in the trades, but for some high schoolers, they’re already knee-deep in the world of construction. A team from Virginia composed of five teens involved in the trades won first place in the 2020 NAHB Student Competition in Las Vegas. The team was tasked with creating a home building business and drafting a plan on how they would build a four-bedroom home in Missouri. This year was the first year they entered the competition, and they also took home the Rookie of the Year award.
That was one of the first things that went through Dowell J. Howard Center senior Lukas Guerrero’s mind when he found out that he and his team of four other students won first place in a national building competition in Las Vegas in January. The group was made up of three building trades students from Dowell J. Howard and two architecture students from Millbrook High School. They spent about 2½ months preparing for the competition.
“We didn’t have a lot of time, but we worked really hard, so it was nice to hear that we won,” said Lukas, 17.
This was the second year the student chapter of the National Association of Home Builders has held a nationwide competition, and it was the first year Frederick County students participated. The students had to create a home-building business, which they named Team Frederick, and present their findings, design work and estimated cost to build a standard four-bedroom home in Missouri.
