Collaboration on Campus: Our Team’s Story at East Stroudsburg University

Boyle Construction has sent Project Manager/Architect Sandra Szabo and Project Manager Tyler Eckhart back to college this past fall. It’s not what you’re thinking, Sandy and Tyler are spearheading Boyle’s project management engagement with East Stroudsburg University.

Boyle is assisting the university in project management duties and will implement the university’s capital projects program. Boyle will help direct the project from the very early planning stages through preconstruction and prime contractor bidding process as well as managing the construction and maintain control of the budget and schedule.

This extra support was welcoming news to East Stroudsburg Director of Facilities Management, John Bloshinski.

“We weren’t able to fill the project manager positions. Now we are able to get the assistance that has been needed in the planning and engineering department,” Bloshinski said. “Sandra and Tyler are filling the shoes of project managers who are knowledgeable and have the skills to run forward with projects with little help or direction.”

“It has been going great. We have been carrying the load of project management independently. This new agreement has given me and my staff an opportunity to do work we need to be focusing on other than project management.”

Sandy and Tyler are splitting time during the week on campus. When there, they are communicating with Bloshinski and his staff on campus projects. It has basically been like cramming for an exam the first day they both stepped on campus.

“I was worried at first. It is a big responsibility to take on all of the campus-wide work,” Eckhart said. “There’s a list of upcoming and existing projects, it’s a large scope of work. We have done a great job staying on top of things and working on the list.”

Communication has been key to the early success. Sandy said her and Tyler really work well together and touch base often. There are various projects large and small and you have to communicate.

Both Sandy and Tyler agree that there is a lot going on at the university and there is a lot of value having someone on campus who specializes in construction and have them be a part of the team.

“We split our time, but East Stroudsburg is getting two full-time project managers,” Eckhart said. “When one of us is not here, the job doesn’t end. We have definitely gotten a handle on things and acclimated really well.”

Some of the projects they have been working on is the installation of a new telecommunications duct bank for the University Center, a stadium concession stand that needed to be installed by the homecoming football game and a big renovation project on the Mattioli Rec Center.

With a lot of the projects on the radar, Sandy and Tyler are working on the planning and logistics for construction activity to start immediately after spring commencement.

“You have to always be mindful of student presence,” Szabo said. “Everything is about the students and being able to keep them running. Our time now is to prepare and come May graduation it is go time.”

The university and Boyle Construction both look forward to the future of this partnership. Bloshinski said he hopes it grows into the future because projects are only going to increase.

Sandy and Tyler both feel the same way about the opportunity at East Stroudsburg and look forward to what the future may hold. “We actually look forward to being involved in growing this to other universities,” Eckhart said. “We see great success here and hopefully that leads to opportunities in the future.”