COVID-19 DISRUPTION & RESPONSE


Build California Continued from page 17


have our weekly board meetings to carry out club business.” Tey met online to address financial issues as well as develop a program of work for the chapter for the 2020-21 academic year and to select officers.


Community Project Still Completed


Several student


volunteers helped complete the Honey Run Covered Bridge Caretakers home rebuild project, a community landmark which was heavily impacted by the Camp Fire. A limited number of volunteers were allowed on the project to help perform rough framing, roofing and a porch add-on. “Even though we had a setback we were able to carry out our scope successfully,” Cortez said. Now a 2020 CSU Chico graduate


who is heading off to start his career at Dome Construction as a project engineer, Cortez is hopeful the CSU Chico Chapter, working with AGC and Build California, will continue to


successfully overcome the challenges that the pandemic poses to student chapter operations. “Tere are a lot


of uncertainties and it is crucial to develop a plan so that our Chico AGC Chapter continues to be successful,” he said. “Te most effective strategy is to keep an open mind through these unknown times and ask a lot of questions.”


USC 2019-20 President Julia Lind


USC Also Makes Quick Shift Online


Chico State 2019-20 Student Chapter President Humberto Cortez


Similar to CSU Chico, the USC


AGC Student Chapter also made an effective shift to online operations, according to Chapter President Julia Lind. “In response to COVID-19, our


chapter rapidly switched all events and opportunities to live online platforms,” she noted. “We conducted our general meetings through Zoom and held our officer election through Google Forms. We previously held our elections through secure online platforms, so this was not a major disruption.” Lind said the chapter held a


transition meeting for incoming and outgoing officers, AGC and alumni


members and their faculty advisor through Zoom. “Tis seemed to be actually more effective than an in-person transition meeting because it allowed all members/invitees to attend despite location or time zone,” she commented. Te biggest challenge for the USC


chapter: keeping members engaged during the shift to a virtual forum. “To help combat falling numbers (of attendees), we strongly pushed our attendance log to incentivize members to partake in events,” Lind said. “Te members who attended the most events at the end of the year were recognized at our general meeting,” she said. While she is also graduating this


year, Lind said she is confident next year’s leadership will overcome the challenges ahead. “I feel confident that our USC


student chapter will be able to push through the changes COVID-19 has brought forth,” she said. “We had already been strategizing ways we could move member training, officer meetings, and technical workshops online. Tis can help us streamline the processes needed to make these successful,” she said. “Te most difficult obstacle to overcome will be hosting networking and industry events should USC decide to go online this Fall semester. Tese are our most popular events and it’s hard to replace a face-to-face conversation.”


AGC Webinar Brings Industry, Students Together


Lind added that an AGC and Build


California-sponsored student chapter webinar, which brought together several industry leaders with student chapter members for a state of the industry Q&A session in May, was a big hit. “Tank you to the AGC workforce


Industry leaders and students came together for the USC / AGC zoom meeting in early May. 20 July/August 2020


development team for hosting the student chapter webinar!” she said. “Many of our members have now started looking into completing certi- fications this summer in this virtual environment because of suggestions from the webinar’s panelists.” 


California Constructor


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