Construction Management student to represent, address Dunwoody College’s Class of 2025
Nick Metzler originally intended to earn a one-year Construction Project Management certificate from Dunwoody, so he was surprised to find himself enrolled in the full bachelor’s completion program when he picked up his schedule. Confused by the change he met with Heather Stafford, Associate Dean of Construction Sciences and Business. She explained that due to his one-year carpentry certificate from Hennepin Technical College, he had enough transfer credits to complete the full Construction Management degree with just two more years of study.
Metzler decided that was the perfect route for him.
“This caught me off guard and still blows me away,” he said. “Somehow, I will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree after one year in a carpentry program and two years in a bachelor’s program, by the time I’m 22. This will be in the same time as most people who went to college right out of high school. Plus, I was able to work full-time, gaining experience and making money.”
And not only will Metzler graduate this May, but he was also selected as the student speaker for this year’s Commencement ceremony.
Similar to many Dunwoody students, Metzler enjoyed working with his hands while growing up in Green Bay, WI.
“I spent time working on projects in my dad’s shop and different houses he was working on in my younger years and then worked more for my uncle remodeling custom homes once I got into high school,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed doing something active vs sitting.”
But he wasn’t sure he wanted to make a career of it. In fact, he much preferred his welding class over the woodworking one when he attended Green Bay Southwest High School.
After graduating he worked for the family construction business and a different custom home builder before deciding he wanted a formal education. He also decided he wanted a change of scenery, so he moved to the St. Paul area, where a sister of his already lived.
Then he enrolled in the carpentry program: “My thought process was: if I could gain skills that would allow me to expand my capabilities and services to an employer or directly to a client, it would be well worth it.”
And it was. He especially enjoyed learning layout for framing.
“The program was geared towards residential construction and although I am focused more on commercial now, framing is what I love most about building a house,” he said. “Understanding the intricacies of laying out walls and roofs can be confusing and often times guys in the field won’t take the time to explain it.”
The value of combining his work experience with a formal program of study is why Metzler decided to keep going and enroll at Dunwoody.
Shortly after starting his first semester in Dunwoody’s program, he started with Boldt Construction as a project estimator and then went back into the field, working on projects for both Boldt and Lunda Construction, including an expansion for Xcel Energy’s Blue Lake Power Plant in Shakopee, MN.
“I was mainly forming concrete and installing bold settings for structural steel,” he said. “I loved it.”
Indeed, that work experience, alongside Metzler’s coursework in the Construction Management program, has clarified what he wants to do after graduation, especially the realization that he much prefers being on site rather than back in the office.
To that end, Metzler has left his position with Boldt and has started his own company — NM Construction, which, at least for the moment, Metzler defines as “a commercial concrete subcontractor specializing in cast in place, footings, foundations, walls, and slabs.”
He’s already been awarded projects for this summer at Wentworth Library in St Paul as well as Maple Grove and Osseo Middle School as the concrete subcontractor.
“One of the biggest reasons I enjoy working as a carpenter and being in the field versus the office is because I love to be with the people on the crews,” he said. “They all have different backgrounds and stories, and I eventually want to lead them and provide a workplace that can help them in ways bigger than a paycheck.”
And it’s his Dunwoody education that’s going to help Metzler realize that.
“I was very intentional about my decision of attending Dunwoody,” Metzler said. “I felt that pursuing this education would allow me to see and accomplish bigger things. I so badly want to use my skills and life for something bigger than myself and by getting an education from Dunwoody I can already see that playing out. ”
His Dunwoody instructors helped him realize his path forward both by what they directly taught in class and by serving as role models of people who work in a variety of positions in industry but also help individuals and the field as a whole through their teaching.
Metzler also has really embraced the Dunwoody ethos of lifelong learning.
He said: “Thankfully, I won’t get to a point where I will be able to stop learning. I’m excited to see who I will get to meet, what projects I will get to work on, and what life has in store for me. Somedays it can be hard to think I will get anywhere in life, but we all need to keep pressing on!”
Working full-time while going to school at night hasn’t been easy. But he also said, “It hasn’t been that bad because you get to learn so much and compare what the real world is like to what you are learning in the classroom.”
After Metzler graduates, he will continue to work on building his construction business. He is looking forward to having a bit more free time. He plans on purchasing a house in St. Paul and looks forward to continuing to train for and run in marathons (he completed Grandmas Marathon in Duluth last year).
Most importantly, though, through the process of completing his degree, Metzler has clarified a direction for his career and life.
“I want to benefit the people in the construction industry, not just myself,” he said. “I want to lead people in an industry that needs quality leaders.”