Successful alums share passion for construction
Published 09.15.2020
News
Building Construction
Alumni News
Engineering Technologies
Two Pennsylvania College of Technology alumni, who have maintained the National Association of Home Builders affiliation that they began in college, discuss their professional paths in 20-minute videos geared toward high school students with potential interest in construction careers. In a partnership between NAHB Student Chapters and Cue Career, current college students interviewed young home builders – including Penn College graduates David J. Foreman and Henry A. Rainey.
Foreman, who operates his own business (David J. Foreman General Contractor) in his Duncansville hometown, earned an associate degree in building construction technology in 2019. "You get a sense of purpose," he said of his chosen profession. "When you're building someone a house that they're going to spend their life in and raise their kids and make memories, you really build that house with pride. And it's really cool to see them come in and be like, 'Oh, wow, look at this!' and you see the smile on their face. That's very rewarding."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaUr6C_JFxU
Rainey, a superintendent with Berks Homes in Mohnton, holds two degrees: an associate degree in building construction technology (2017) and a bachelor's in residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration (2018). "The first two years, I literally built a house from the footer up. I took masonry classes, I took roofing classes. I took siding classes, framing classes," he said. "So they really prepared a raw guy like myself. I went into it and all the other kids – they had dads who were in construction and they had worked construction before – they just took me and treated me like I was always part of construction, and helped me out a lot."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7tgtsR2tBc
As members of the Penn College Construction Association while students, Foreman and Rainey both represented their alma mater in high-profile competitions during the International Builders Show. Foreman also received a Pennsylvania Builders Association "Outstanding Student Award" in 2019, and Rainey – whose exposure to the college predated his enrollment – was a 2012 graduate of the Penn College Youth Leadership Program.
Foreman, who operates his own business (David J. Foreman General Contractor) in his Duncansville hometown, earned an associate degree in building construction technology in 2019. "You get a sense of purpose," he said of his chosen profession. "When you're building someone a house that they're going to spend their life in and raise their kids and make memories, you really build that house with pride. And it's really cool to see them come in and be like, 'Oh, wow, look at this!' and you see the smile on their face. That's very rewarding."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaUr6C_JFxU
Rainey, a superintendent with Berks Homes in Mohnton, holds two degrees: an associate degree in building construction technology (2017) and a bachelor's in residential construction technology and management: building construction technology concentration (2018). "The first two years, I literally built a house from the footer up. I took masonry classes, I took roofing classes. I took siding classes, framing classes," he said. "So they really prepared a raw guy like myself. I went into it and all the other kids – they had dads who were in construction and they had worked construction before – they just took me and treated me like I was always part of construction, and helped me out a lot."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7tgtsR2tBc
As members of the Penn College Construction Association while students, Foreman and Rainey both represented their alma mater in high-profile competitions during the International Builders Show. Foreman also received a Pennsylvania Builders Association "Outstanding Student Award" in 2019, and Rainey – whose exposure to the college predated his enrollment – was a 2012 graduate of the Penn College Youth Leadership Program.