Shaping Future Leaders in Sustainability and Construction Management

U-M CEE is excited to welcome undergraduate students Jacob Lyons, Yocelyn Perez, Neil Broide, Ayeyi Asamoah Manu and Oliver Kayi to the 2025 Construction Management and Sustainability Scholars Program cohort. 

Initially launched last year, CMSSP offers selected students a wide variety of career-building experiences. 

“By introducing CMSSP scholars to hands-on opportunities and diverse viewpoints in the sustainability and construction management fields, the program encourages students to think outside the box while giving students the opportunity to develop crucial leadership skills, shaping their future careers,” said CEE Professor Carol Menassa.

“Being a CMSSP scholar is a really cool opportunity to bring the modern challenges of daily life into the construction landscape where the environment has typically been viewed as unimportant,” said Jacob Lyons. “I hope to transfer the skills that I gain from this experience into real world skills and to help myself define what it means to be a sustainable engineer.”

“The program involves an extensive and comprehensive educational experience,” said Professor Dave Kelly. “While a part of CMSSP, these students will have the opportunity to be involved in a summer internship or embedded ambassadorship, a thematic national or international trip and an annual construction management and sustainability conference.”

“This upcoming summer, I will be working with Arco Murray in their Chicago office,” said Neil Broide on his CMSSP summer internship. “During my time there, I aim to gain a deeper understanding of their sustainability goals and the construction management practices they follow. I plan to begin by engaging with as many coworkers as possible to learn how the company integrates sustainability and construction management into its projects.”

For Yocelyn Perez, hands-on opportunities to create sustainable change is a key aspect of CMSSP that sparks her interest. “I’m most passionate about project planning, green building practices, and using renewable materials in construction. Through CMSSP, I plan to explore these interests further by gaining hands-on experience through meaningful projects that strengthen my technical skills and contribute to a more sustainable built environment.”

“Being selected as a CMSSP scholar means that I’m on the right track,” said Oliver Kayi. “One aspect of the program that I am particularly looking forward to is coordinating the CMSSP conference. I am eager to facilitate discussions involving individuals with government backgrounds to discuss their experiences and insights and how policy can influence sustainable construction practices. This would provide valuable perspective on regulatory and policy issues and foster a dialogue on how public sector involvement can drive meaningful change and collaboration with the private sector.”

In addition to hands-on experiences like trips, conferences and internships, CMSSP scholars will develop crucial interpersonal and professional skills through interaction and collaboration with faculty, staff, peer scholars and various leaders in the industry and community. 

“The course will allow students to engage with non-profit organizations, think tanks and other entities with a focus on sustainability and construction management,” explained Professor Vineet Kamat. “These experiences give CMSSP students exposure to a variety of perspectives and experts in the field.”

Ayeyi Asamoah Manu looks forward to CMSSP and the professional connections he might build while pursuing his passion for sustainability and construction management. “I am deeply passionate about integrating sustainability into construction management practices, particularly through innovative technologies like Building Information Modeling (BIM) and green infrastructure,” Manu said. “The CMSSP will help me delve into these areas by offering experiential learning opportunities such as internships focused on sustainable design and construction practices. The program’s emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration will also enable me to connect with professionals from diverse fields, enriching my understanding of how construction management can address environmental and social challenges.”

Additionally, the five 2025 CMSSP scholars will be joined by two pre-scholars, Brayden and Bronson Morioka. Brayden and Bronson, who plan to graduate in either December 2026 or May 2027, received advance placement acceptance into the 2026 cohort of CMSSP, which will commence in the winter semester 2026. As pre-scholars in 2025, they will participate in all on-campus activities and events with the current 2025 cohort, including the kick-off workshop, assisting with planning of the 2025 conference, attending the conference and pre-conference dinner with our invited speakers, and meeting the program benefactors, Dan and Sheryl Tishman, when they visit campus. 

Regardless of their educational backgrounds or passion projects, each CMSSP scholar has the passion and dedication to shape the future of the civil and environmental engineering field. Congratulations to the 2025 CMSSP cohort, and best of luck in your upcoming endeavors.