Lowe offers Citadel cadets on-site training experience

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After a year of homebound learning, real-time field experience must be a refreshing change of pace for college students, especially those in The Citadel School of Engineering.

Incoming cadet-recruits of the Excellence in Civil Engineering Leadership program received on-the-job analysis from Citadel partner Lowe, the college said in a news release.

Executives at Lowe and BL Harbert International hosted an in-class lecture this month, followed by a tour of Lowe’s construction site at The Cooper — a downtown waterfront hotel the company broke ground on in 2020.

The on-site experience illustrated the construction process, as well as the challenges and opportunities that come with building foundations for large waterfront developments, the release said.

Citadel professor Rebekah Burke is grateful for the support Lowe’s has shown to the School of Engineering and the cadets.

“This valuable partnership not only introduces our cadets to real estate and construction management but provides them a better understanding of how classroom lessons apply in real-world development,” she said.

As a Citadel partner, Lowe regularly visits the college campus to offer reoccurring lecture series to cadets in the School of Engineering.

“By partnering with The Citadel’s School of Engineering, Lowe is helping to showcase real-world experiences and in turn, better prepare cadets for career opportunities in the future,” said Lowe vice president Mike Mansager in the release. “We enjoyed interacting with such a great group of cadet-recruits and look forward to inviting them back to see The Cooper hotel construction progress through to completion.” 

The National Science Foundation sponsors the ExCEL program, a four-year scholarship and development program for students who show “exceptional leadership potential,” the release said. As part of the program’s mission, students are connected with resources to help build a career plan and become leaders in the civil engineering profession.