Five O&G Building Group team members recently returned to Roger Williams University in a new role, helping senior construction management students put four years of learning into practice.
Dave Cravanzola, Assistant Vice President; Tyson Burk, Director, Industrial Division; Greg Pomerleau, Project Manager; Mike Sasso, Superintendent; and Ben Tapley, Superintendent, all RWU alumni, participated in the Senior Capstone Project for the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management. O&G was assigned four student teams and challenged each one to develop a full construction management proposal for the UConn South Campus Chiller Plant project.
Acting as construction management firms, the teams created company profiles and prepared the deliverables needed to bid, plan, and execute the work. Their submissions followed the progression of a real construction management pursuit, from company and project organization, site logistics, safety planning, risk assessment, quality control, and BIM coordination to quantity takeoff, estimating, scheduling, and cash flow analysis.
Throughout the process, O&G’s RWU alumni served as the owner’s representative, answering RFIs, reviewing submissions, grading deliverables, and providing feedback. Ben Tapley, Superintendent on the UConn South Campus Chiller project, also coordinated and led a visit to the jobsite, giving the students a closer look at the project behind their proposals.
The experience culminated with final presentations, where each team showed how its approach had evolved.
“I was impressed by how much the students developed over the course of the semester,” said Tapley. “They began their presentations relying heavily on note cards and with only a limited understanding of the project. By the end of the semester, they were presenting with confidence and demonstrating a strong grasp of the project requirements.”
Mike Sasso, Superintendent, also noted the teams’ progress, saying the students “improved constantly throughout the semester and showed exceptional understanding of project scope and presentation skills considering their experience levels.”
After the presentations, O&G selected one winning team, which was recognized later that evening during an Alumni/Senior dinner. The winning group stood out for the strength and consistency of its written work and presentations, as well as its clear understanding of the owner’s needs and the project’s specific requirements.
For the O&G participants, the program offered a meaningful opportunity to give back to a university experience they once completed themselves.
“It was awesome to provide feedback and be on the other side of something that I had gone through myself,” Sasso said.
Tapley said the impact of the experience became especially clear when students reflected on how far their work had come from the beginning of the semester.
“Seeing that growth and knowing I played a role in their development made the experience particularly rewarding,” he said.
The partnership gave RWU students valuable industry exposure while allowing O&G Building Group team members to support the next generation of construction professionals.
Congratulations to all four teams on a successful capstone experience, and to the winning team recognized at the Alumni/Senior dinner.
