Norfolk Student Wins Northeast Drafting Program Bridge Building Competition

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NORFOLK – Northeast Community second year drafting students saw one of their final projects of the year destroyed. But that was the point of the drafting program’s annual Popsicle Bridge Competition, held Friday in the College’s Cox Activities Center Theatre.

Each of the eleven students in the competition created blueprints for their bridges, made of popsicle sticks, glue and fish line, that are designed to hold at least 50 times their weight. Each of the eleven bridges broke under the pressure from the weight that sat on top.

When the dust cleared, so to speak, Nate Kroeger, Norfolk, won the 2015 competition after his 1.725 pound bridge, he named KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid), held 175 pounds, or 101.4 times its own weight. He received $100 from Nucor Steel. Kroeger also entered the competition’s “Top 20” after his performance and is listed at #18. The record is held by Adam Krueger, whose 2.31 pound bridge held 630 pounds, or 272 times its own weight in 2013.

Dana Haas, Tabor, SD, came in second in this year’s competition after her 2.19 pound bridge, “The Golden Break Bridge,” held 220 pounds, or 100.6 times its own weight.

Other students taking part in this year’s event included Brad Beed, Norfolk, Jamie Davis, Ainsworth, Cory Hladky, Duncan, Abby Johnson, Norfolk, Mitch Kozak, Grand Island, Cody Mangus, Albion, Jade Netherland, Norfolk, Ken Ramsay, Norfolk, and Bridget Shelden, Norfolk.

Michael Holcomb and Harry Lindner, Northeast’s computer aided design (CAD)/drafting instructors on the Norfolk campus, organize the annual competition.

Students in the Northeast broadcasting and audio recording technology programs livestreamed and recorded the bridge building competition from several different angles. A program will air Tuesday, May 12, at 5 p.m. on KHWK/Hawk TV on CableOne Channel 20. It will also be uploaded to You Tube following the May 12broadcast.

Northeast’s drafting program has two concentrations available to students. One is architectural drafting where students learn to design residential and commercial structures using two-dimensional and three-dimensional CAD software.

The second concentration offered at the College Center in South Sioux City, by Instructor Danny Whitlock, is the industrial facility concentration.  Students are trained to develop detailed working drawings for use in the manufacturing and industrial facilities.

Other areas covered in both concentrations are preparing material-takeoffs and cost estimates, construction surveying, developing building information models (BIM).  After graduating from Northeast, students may find employment with architectural and engineering firms, general contractors, facility and building maintenance engineering departments. The Nucor Detailing Center in Norfolk has hired several Northeast graduates.