Pouring a successful foundation

Minnesota State Moorhead's construction management graduates are building the future of the Fargo-Moorhead area. For Cameron Moe, every day of his job is a dream come true.

Cameron works as a project engineer at Ames Construction. He coordinates and directs Ames field crews, subcontractors, suppliers, and material deliveries. Cameron has been with Ames since he graduated in 2023, and he's currently working on the 11th street underpass, which is the City of Moorhead's largest road infrastructure project to date.

The foundation of Cameron's job is communicating effectively with many groups of people, which is a skill that solidified during his time at Moorhead.

"A big part of my job is knowing how to communicate well. My time at MSUM taught me that skill," he says.

His education at Moorhead also provided him a model of where he could be after college.

"The program gives you a visualization of your future career. We got jobsite tours, tested concrete, and went out weekly for a surveying class," he says.

Experiential learning is a cornerstone of Moorhead's construction management program. Students regularly visit jobsites and learn in the field, as well as completing an internship before graduating. This played a big part in Cameron choosing to attend Minnesota State Moorhead. 

"I toured all of the campuses around here and was impressed with MSUM's hands-on approach to teaching," he says.

Cameron was also the president of Moorhead's construction management society. This club provides a place for construction management majors to build strong connections with companies in the industry and serve the community.

Cameron is glad to work at a company like Ames that prioritizes serving the community.

"It's really special to be this young in the position I'm in, and I take pride in what I do to help others," he says.

Cameron at the 11th street underpass jobsite

The 11th street underpass project will help the community in many ways. The project will improve the flow of traffic, update water and sewer infrastructure, provide a facelift for the downtown area, and bolster public safety across the board.

"One of the challenges the city of Moorhead faced is that the fire hall is currently on the north side of the train tracks, so to get to the other side they often have to wait for a train or go to the other underpass. This delayed response time to emergencies," he says.

This new underpass will give fire engines a direct route to the south side of the tracks. The project is set to be completed by fall of 2026.

Cameron's experience at Minnesota State Moorhead is indicative of many other construction management student stories. Moorhead laid the foundation for him to emerge a solid contributor to not only his workplace, but the community he calls home.

"It's great to see everyone come together on this project for the city of Moorhead," he says.