Competition, competition, competion...

Those are the main words going through my head right now. With only a week and a half left till we leave for our design build competition in Reno, I've had to spend most of my past couple of Saturdays working to get ready. The competition is being sponsored by McCarthy Construction. The problem this year is to design a student service building for a college campus in California. The only information they gave us before we arrive is that the building will be incorporating the functions of five other buildings on campus into one. We leave for the competition on Wednesday, February 10, at four in the morning. We arrive there at twelve where we get to mingle around and get everything set up for the next day. On Thursday morning at 7 AM we are given a packet with more specific information and we have the next 17 hours to design a building, figure out all the costs, create a schedule, and come up with new and innovative ways to build this building. At midnight we submit the required documents then the rest of the night is spent preparing to present the information to the judges the following day, which means no sleep and a day spent working as fast as possible. The next day we are given 20 minutes to present and then on Saturday, the winning teams are announced. The main purpose of going is to be able to show the judges and other companies that you are a good fit for their company. With today's economy in the trouble it is I'm hoping that I will be able to network at this competition and find a job.