The Girls Build Summer Academy is a week-long day camp on the Cal Poly campus that hosts up to 20 local high school girls and provides them with hands-on activities and exposure to the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction. Now in its fourth year, the camp is made possible through grants from the National Association of Home Builders and The National Housing Endowment, and thanks to sponsorships from local companies and alumni volunteers.

Construction Management Professor and Cal Poly alum Stacy Kolegraff (Construction Management, ‘02) developed the idea and has run the camp for the past three summers. Several priorities led to its creation, including increasing high school outreach and increasing women's representation within the construction industry.

Kolegraff stressed the significance that sponsorships play each year as they allow the camp to be offered for free to all participants.

“Through sponsors we have been able to provide a full set of tools to the girls, hand tools, a tool bag, and personal protective equipment, such as a hard hat and safety glasses," she explained. "We feed them breakfast, lunch, and snacks throughout the day. And everything is free of charge.”

Those items come in handy as the girls get to build various projects and learn to operate the different machines.

“They learn how to use power tools, drills, saws. We solder pipe. We are building a good three to four hours of the day,” said Kolegraff.

In addition to hands-on projects, the girls are also exposed to alumni and local industry professionals who volunteer at the camp and take on a mentorship role while providing an overview of various career paths within the industry. Local unions have also participated for several years, including the carpenters union, the electrical union, and the plumbing union.

Christi Kaefer-Clayton (Construction Management, ‘01) is the President of Projects General Construction, a women-owned and operated company based out of Santa Barbara. She has previously volunteered at the camp by speaking about her career path and teaching participants how to use different tools. 

As an alum, she is happy to see this opportunity for young girls as she sees her own story in many of them.

“At a young age, I did not know architecture or construction was possible for me as a girl,” she said. “I want girls of any age to know they can be in construction, architecture, engineering, or any industry.”

Kolegraff stressed how important it is for the girls to have hands-on experience and to take something tangible home with them that will remind them of their time at the camp.

“I really see the value in being able to have something physical to take back, to spark that conversation with their parents or friends, or even to just have on their desk to say, ‘Hey, I built this, and I did this camp, and it was really cool,’ " she said.

Kaefer-Clayton hopes that by hearing stories like hers, girls will feel motivated and empowered to reach for their dreams.

“I hope they will hear someone’s story and learn that there is a piece of their story that is similar so they can believe they too can achieve their own goals if they set their mind to it,” she said.

The Girls Build Summer Academy runs from June 23-27, 2025. For more information or to join as a sponsor, click here or contact Stacy Kolegraff at sakolegr@calpoly.edu