Creative thinking and teamwork are what have earned students from across the U.S. and Canada the opportunity to travel to Las Vegas and compete in the national finals of the AEM Construction Challenge presented by Volvo Construction Equipment taking place March 21-25 at the international ConExpo-Con/Agg construction industries trade show.

Regional rallies across the U.S. and Canada gave students the chance to demonstrate their creative abilities and imagination as they vied to secure a spot to the national competition by building structures that related to transportation and water infrastructure.

“We saw amazing creativity and problem-solving skills from student teams at each of the rallies,” Paul Parker, Volvo senior marketing and program specialist, said in a press statement. “We look forward to bringing this next generation into the construction field to help meet infrastructure needs in North America and to solve problems we may not even be considering today.”

At the national championships, the top 24 teams that advanced from the regional rallies will compete for scholarships and other prizes and have the opportunity to meet and learn from leaders in the construction industry.

Eight of the nine regional rallies were held on Jan. 15 in Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Enid, Okla., Milwaukee, Richmond, Seattle and Toronto. The Atlanta rally will be held on Jan. 22.

The top teams that are advancing from the Jan. 15 rallies are as follows:

Dallas Regional Rally, Sponsored by ROMCO Equipment Company and Volvo Construction Equipment & Services (VCES) both Volvo CE dealerships

• Pearce High School and Richardson High School, Dallas, TX- first place
• Creekview Turner High School and Newman Smith High School, Carrollton, TX-                  second place
• Cuero High School, Cuero, TX- third place

Enid Regional Rally, Sponsored by G.W. Van Keppel Company, a Volvo CE dealership