Golden State Today

Joshua Chavez, a UC Davis graduate, has found his professional path through the university's Continuing and Professional Education (CPE) Construction Management Program. Chavez, who majored in managerial economics, initially contributed to early infrastructure work at Aggie Square in Sacramento. This innovation district is a collaboration between UC Davis and Wexford Science & Technology LLC.

Chavez credits his career shift to a suggestion from a friend working at Whiting-Turner, one of the general contractors on the Aggie Square project. He stated, “Once I heard about the construction management program and saw that it was connected to UC Davis, I trusted them because I had gone to UC Davis.”

The construction management certificate program enrolls approximately 462 students annually and exceeds its enrollment goals by 10% this year. Michelle Kreuzer-Moore from UC Davis CPE remarked on its popularity: “It’s one of our more popular programs... Students really gain access to and knowledge of the construction industry.”

Brandon Condie also joined the program after a recommendation from a friend who completed it alongside Chavez. Condie applies classroom lessons on subcontractor billings directly to his work at Aggie Square.

While Chavez now works on other projects like constructing a new dugout for the Oakland A’s in West Sacramento, he reflects positively on his time with Aggie Square: “The project to me is a huge milestone for the city of Sacramento... Just to have gone to UC Davis and done the construction management program for UC Davis, it felt like full circle for me.”