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Photo by Grace Cockrell

A sophomore building construction science major, Makayla Martin first discovered her love for this work after taking a shop class in her Mission, Texas, high school where she made a cutting board with many different types of wood.

“Through the class, I realized I really like putting things together,” she said. “Learning about the construction process was so much fun.” 

Martin said she is enjoying expanding her knowledge at Mississippi State and her first BCS class was eye opening. Students were tasked with drawing floor plans and inputting them into a 3D rendering on the computer. One of the floor plans they created then was selected for the class to build a tiny house.

“The paper just came to life, and we all worked together to do that,” she said. “It was really cool to see the process and get to do it hands-on, and it was a great bonding experience.”

Also in her freshman year, Martin was encouraged by her shop technician Charles Beckham and her ����BT Career Center Advisor Amy Skelton to attend a campus career fair for construction majors. She established connections that now have helped her secure a summer internship, and she is excited to travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to learn more about work in the field with hopes of narrowing down her future career goals.

Martin recently competed as part of a team of BCS students in the annual National Association of Home Builders Student Competition, held during the 2026 International Builders’ Show in Orlando earlier this month. The seven-member team presented a comprehensive proposal for a hypothetical home in Lake Martin, Alabama, a project they developed during their studio course last semester.

“We picked a lot, designed a home and estimated all the costs,” she said, adding that she and a teammate even traveled to see the actual lot and typography for the home.

“It was really cool to better understand what everything looked like and to envision a possible end goal of what we had been working on for so long,” Martin said.

Martin is looking forward to continuing to learn all she can about construction from her studio projects and professors, and competitions, co-ops and internships.

“It felt overwhelming going into the program at first, but if I can come out of it with confidence and a strong work ethic, knowing that I learned and grew as much as possible, it will help me be the best I can be wherever I end up in the future.”

By Christie McNeal on February 27, 2026