Written by A.D. Thompson
Deyana Thomas didn’t come from the best neighborhood, but the Philadelphia native’s drive and dedication — not to mention her interest in carpentry — came from her dad.
Thomas spent a lot of time helping her father on jobsites when she was a kid. Like most single-digit apprentices, her first tool was a broom, but she was measuring and cutting sheetrock, plywood and tile by age 12.
ACG and Procore Technologies have partnered to create a program to help inspiring students at historically Black colleges and universities. They’ve raised lots of money – and lots of hope – as they help the next generation of constructors bloom, grow and achieve.
“My early experiences in construction shaped my career aspirations,” says Thomas, now a first-gen college student and carpentry major at Florida A&M University. “Watching my father inspired me to pursue a career in this field. He’s always been a role model to me … I learned from an early age the value of hard work and the satisfaction that comes from seeing a project through to completion.”
Leaving her hometown, she says, gave her an opportunity to beat the odds, “to prove I am not a product of my environment and make my mother and sister proud.”
But a college degree takes more than hard work and a will to succeed. It takes money. In 2021, AGC of America — in partnership with Procore Technologies — launched a new scholarship program to support construction students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
“Our conversations with Procore, a leading global provider of construction management software, began as an opportunity to better align with AGC of America’s Culture of CARE program,” says Darrel Gibson, Executive Director of the AGC Education and Research
Foundation. “We felt it was important to play a role in helping to drive the idea of greater diversity and inclusion in the construction industry.”
Procore accepted the mission, pledging $250,000 to the cause. AGC matched it. A Challenge Campaign was issued. And the organization’s members stepped up. Key supporters including Beavers Charitable Trust, Construction Risk Partners, Bowen Engineering, Bulley & Andrews, Caddell Construction Company, Josam Co., Stanley Construction and Williams Brothers Construction, helped raise an additional $90,000.
All that so scholars like Thomas could pursue their dreams of making an impact in an industry that needs her.
“Attraction and retention are definitely challenges facing the industry today,” says Irish Horsey, Director of Industry Advancement for Procore, herself an HBCU grad. Tuskegee University is her alma mater. “Ninety-one percent of companies are finding it very challenging to fill their job openings. Over 720,000 openings are predicted over the next decade. We’re talking about 7.5 million jobs needed by 2031.”
The scholarship, she notes, makes it possible to touch an almost untapped pool of the construction workforce, one that’s historically underrepresented.
“African Americans make up 12% of the overall workforce but only 6% of the construction workforce,” she explains. “And so by targeting students at HBCUs and continuing to support partnerships like this one, we’re hoping to create and improve it.”
AGC and Procore together spread the word of the program.
“The scholarships are available to some 20 HBCUs that have construction management programs,” Horsey explains. “They are open to any student at an HBCU that has such a program or a related construction degree in science that is accredited by the American Council of Construction Education.”
Najahte King is a junior at Florida A&M majoring in Construction Engineering Technology. The oldest child of five from Pensacola, Florida, he’s got a history of industriousness, rising to management level as a high schooler working at McDonald’s.
“I’ve always loved being a leader and coordinating teams,” King told Constructor, “but I knew that the fast food industry was not the place for me. With the engineering mindset that I have, problem solving and attention to detail have always caught my interest.
It was a college project — specifically the satisfaction he felt during and after its completion — that inspired him to look seriously at construction.
“I knew that I could achieve the same or greater feeling with real-world projects in the constantly evolving construction industry.”
Both Thomas and King, among the first recipients of the scholarship, had to meet criteria established by the AGC Board of Directors. They must be rising sophomores, juniors or seniors with at least one full year of study remaining. They must be enrolled in a construction or related Bachelor of Science program.
Once qualifications have been scrutinized, finalists meet with representatives from the Board. This year’s recipients were awarded at the annual gala in March.
“The application process was very engaging, unlike others,” says Thomas. “I enjoyed that we were interviewed because it showed that [they] were interested in getting to know
the scholars on a personal level.”
At least six attended the March event, Horsey says, noting with amusement the
AGC-member interest in meeting them.
“It was almost like sharks were coming after them in the ocean,” she laughs. “They were definitely bombarded with recruitment.”
In fact, she says, four of them were able to attend the soiree because of AGC-member
sponsorship.
“It’s a good example of the industry stepping up and engaging so these young people could experience not only the ceremony of receiving their awards, but be present at an
industry event like the AGC conference.”
Horsey has been with Procore less than a year, but previously spent time in academia
in both program director and department chair roles in construction management
programs. Prior to that, she served the industry as a construction manager and program manager.
“In those roles, I saw firsthand the value that construction technology added in
managing our projects. And so naturally, once I became an educator, bringing that
into the classroom was a no-brainer.”
Horsey not only has a PhD. in building construction from Georgia Tech, she was the first African-American woman to receive one in that program. She credits her time at Tuskegee, from which she received an MBA and a Bachelor of Science degree in construction science and management, with much of her success.
“It laid the foundation very early on,” she notes. “I attribute where I am now professionally from my experience at an HBCU like Tuskegee.”
It’s one of the reasons she’s passionate about the scholarship program. It affords students, among other things, the peace of mind to work toward their academic and career goals with far less stress over the financial burden of higher education.
“It’s had a greater impact on my education and career in the past six months than anything in the past three years,” says King. “It has felt like a breath of fresh air and a breakthrough due to the prestigious connections that I have made with solidified individuals in the construction
industry.”
It fosters a belief in oneself, too.
“Being recognized as a Black female and an out-of-state scholar has boosted my confidence and motivated me to keep pursuing my goals,” says Thomas. “The scholarship serves as a reminder that I have the potential to make a meaningful impact in my field, and that hard work and dedication can pay off.”
In pursuing a career in construction, Thomas feels honored to carry forward her father’s legacy in the field and building on the foundation he helped lay.
“I am excited to see where this career path will take me.”