Cromwell, which opened in 1885, has a long history of supporting construction management and engineering students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. More than 20 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock graduates work at Cromwell, and Cromwell employees serve on advisory boards, give guest lectures, and provide internships to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students. The company recently donated $25,000 to create an endowed scholarship for undergraduate engineering majors at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.

Three of the amazing women employed at Cromwell who also attended 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock include Jenna Maness, construction administrator, Brittani Mitchell, structural engineer, and Tammy Siler, director of energy services.

Breaking barriers and defying stereotypes, these accomplished professionals exemplify a commitment to empowering women in traditionally male-dominated fields. Their success not only serves as a source of inspiration but also underscores the invaluable contributions of women in shaping the future of construction.

鈥淗aving visibility of women who are in construction will give other girls the opportunity to know that it鈥檚 possible to flourish in the industry,鈥� said Maness, who has worked at Cromwell for two years after graduating from 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in construction management in 2020.

鈥淭here are certainly more women in all roles of construction now,鈥� noted Siler, who has 15 years of experience at Cromwell. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy for women to be intimidated in a male-dominated field so it鈥檚 important to show that women can be successful in this industry.鈥�

The alumni all agreed that the lessons they learned during their time as students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock helped them to be successful in their careers.

鈥淭he biggest thing for me was knowing that the professors had so much experience in the industry,鈥� said Michell, who has worked at Cromwell for seven years. 鈥淎nd the requirement that students have a certain number of work experience hours (800) before they graduate. That really pushed students to get out there and learn about different aspects of the industry.鈥�

Siler enjoyed the opportunity to learn different perspectives by taking classes in many different programs while she attended 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.

鈥淚 had a lot of diversity in my classes, and I think that was of great benefit,鈥� Siler said. 鈥淚 learned a great work ethic while I was taking some of my harder classes. The math and physics background that I learned at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was the basis for my entire degree.鈥�

As women working in the construction industry, Siler, Maness, and Mitchell all learned valuable lessons that they wanted to share with college students.

鈥淓arly in my career, I was a little sensitive to being a female in a male-dominated industry,鈥� Siler said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want anyone to think I didn鈥檛 know enough. I learned it鈥檚 okay to ask questions, to be yourself, and to be confident. You don鈥檛 have to be something you鈥檙e not just because you are a woman.鈥�

Mitchell recently had someone tell her that women in the construction industry are the most organized people in the world. Mitchell thinks it all comes down to confidence.

鈥淢y biggest lesson is to be confident in what you are doing,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淗aving confidence and not being afraid to speak up and stand up for your choices is key.鈥�

Looking to the future of the industry, there is a great need for people to join the construction industry now to replace the experienced generation that will soon be retiring.

鈥淚 think anyone who wants to get into construction should go for it right now,鈥� Maness said. 鈥淭here is such a need in the construction industry. It is thriving and growing, and there are not enough younger people with the knowledge and experience.鈥�

Meanwhile, Mitchell advised women who want to go into construction to gain as much experience as possible while they are still in school.

鈥淢y biggest advice is to do internships and gain experience in different disciplines and areas of construction. It helps you to find out the route you want to take,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淭here are so many different opportunities in the construction industry, and this experience helps you figure out where you want to go, what you want to learn, and to understand what happens in other fields.鈥�

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has made a generous $25,000 donation to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock to create the Cromwell Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship to help provide engineering majors with a more affordable and accessible college education.

鈥淲ith every industry, it鈥檚 getting harder to find talent,鈥� said Rob Seay, executive vice president who has worked at Cromwell since 1990. 鈥淲hen you can find local talent, they are more likely to stay. We need a strong university like 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in town to draw local talent and provide students with a great education to prepare them for the workforce. It is our hope that this scholarship opens new doors of opportunity for aspiring engineering students.鈥�

The scholarship will be used to provide assistance for education-related expenses, including tuition, books, fees, and room and board for undergraduate students majoring in engineering, engineering technology, or civil and construction engineering at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.

Cromwell, which opened in 1885, has a long history of supporting construction management and engineering students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. More than 20 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock graduates work at Cromwell, and Cromwell employees serve on advisory boards, give guest lectures, and provide internships to 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students.

Cromwell, along with CDI Contractors, serves as an industry sponsor for the senior design project for students in the Civil and Construction Engineering and Architectural and Construction Engineering programs. They meet with the seniors every two weeks during the school year, as the students are tasked with providing the structural design, construction cost estimate, and building schedule for a hypothetical multi-million dollar building project.

As a company, Cromwell and its employees are very active in giving back to the community. Seay, who is a member of Our Lady of Souls Catholic Church, said that Cromwell is involved in many activities, especially food drives and volunteering for The Van, which provides supplies and services for the homeless.

鈥淐romwell, as a company, is involved in a lot of charities,鈥� Seay said. 鈥淥ur employees love giving back to the community. It鈥檚 another fun activity for us, and we have a very community minded culture.鈥�

The generous contribution from Cromwell is set to make a lasting impact by empowering students to build their dreams and construct a brighter future for themselves and their communities. This gift is a part of the Centennial Campaign, which has a goal to raise $250 million in celebration of the university鈥檚 100-year anniversary in 2027. Visit to learn more about the Centennial Campaign.

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During their senior design project for the 2022-23 school year, 20 students from the Civil and Construction Engineering and Architectural and Construction Engineering programs were tasked with providing the structural design, construction cost estimate, and building schedule for four hypothetical building projects spread out across the United States.

鈥淲e have our largest senior class ever this year, and we are very proud of the work they鈥檝e done for the last two semesters,鈥� said Anne Turner, assistant professor and coordinator of the Civil and Construction Engineering Program. 鈥淲e thank our industry partners for all their hard work and efforts with mentoring our seniors in the development of their final projects.鈥�

Each team was tasked with designing a different type of building in a different location. The real-life inspiration for the students鈥� hypothetical projects was the $40 million expansion of Conway Regional Health System that included the construction of a 42,000-square-foot, three-story medical office. Industry partner Cromwell Architects Engineers designed the project.

The students and their projects include:

路  Dream Team consisting of Echo Cox, Zakary Gould, Chandler Reep, Alyssa Rood, and Sam Swindle 鈥� University Research Center in Savannah, Georgia

路  Shear Luck with Annya Grom, Jack Hill, Gerardo Ramirez, John Short, and Andrea Vargas 鈥� Police Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee

路  Always Under Construction with Andrew Brown, Taylor Carter, Junius Mugambi, Jonathan Toups, and Fernando Vllla 鈥� Medical Office Building in Juneau, Alaska

路  HATDD with Hesom Garner, Tori Lee, David Mendoza-Lopez, Harlan Pennington, and Dustin Welch 鈥� JLM Fusion Research Center in Jackson, Wyoming

Industry sponsors from Cromwell Architects Engineers and CDI Contractors created the design challenge for the seniors. Participating Cromwell members included Mike Callahan, director of structures, and structural engineers Paul Timko and Brittani Mitchell. Daniel Bowen, director of preconstruction, and David Cooan, senior project manager, joined the team from CDI Contractors.

A senior design project is a requirement for accreditation by the ABET, a nonprofit, non-governmental agency that accredits programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 senior design project is unique in that its industry partners from Cromwell Architects Engineers and CDI Contracting have been involved ever since the Civil and Construction Engineering Program was created, showing just how dedicated industry partners are to making sure the students have a successful education.

The students considered multiple factors like wind speed and exposure, seismic activity, frost depth, and snow loads that would affect their building design. Weather, taxes, inflation, and building costs were all factors in the building schedule and construction estimate. The estimated final cost of the projects ranged from $15.1 million to $23.6 million with construction times between 17-20 months.

The students were thrown a few twists and turns in their project, such as what would happen if the client made a request to know the cost of adding a fifth floor to a four-story project. The students came up with alternative bids, and the average price to add a fifth floor to each project wound up at $3.93 million.

鈥淔rom the project, we developed many new skills,鈥� said senior Andrea Vargas. 鈥淲e learned how to be accountable, responsible, and professional, and we expanded our technical skills. We also worked on developing our design skills, something that we became more skilled at over time. We thank the faculty members at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock who have shaped us into the students we are today.鈥�

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