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Gabby Robbins, an incoming junior construction management major at ��«Ӱҵ, has received the coveted Beavers Scholarship for students pursuing a heavy construction career.

Created in 1977 by construction companies and individuals engaged in heavy engineering construction, the Beavers Charitable Trust will generate $1.8 million in grants in 2025. Some of that goes to support heavy construction education programs, such as the one at SDSU, and some goes directly to students like Robbins, who received a $10,000 award.

Robbins, of Rapid City, grew up in a construction family. Her father, Nick, and her mother, Ana, formed Lester-Robbins Construction in 2008, operating the concrete flatwork firm out of their home. Today there are 25 employees working on major commercial projects specializing in concrete.

Neither Robbins nor her sister, Bailey, were on the payroll, but they both took an interest in construction.

In 2020, Lester-Robbins had grown enough to have its own office. Bailey Robbins joined the firm in 2021, working in human resources and marketing. Gabby Robbins graduated from St. Thomas More High School in 2023 and wanted to go into the construction field.

Witnessing Rapid City’s growth, Gabby Robbins said she was intrigued by “how new things can pop up. You go from papers and a blueprint and then see a building there. It’s cool to see the final product; very fulfilling.”

She decided to travel across the state for her college education because “I had heard so much about how good (SDSU’s) construction management program is.” After two years in the program, “I feel like I’ve had a really good learning experience. My professors are very open to questions and helping you learn and to push you.”

Albena Yordanova, a senior lecturer in the Department of Construction and Concrete Industry Management, has had Robbins in a couple classes as well as being her adviser.

Yordanova stated, Robbins is “an excellent student and a very motivated person. She has consistently demonstrated an ability to rise to any challenge that she must face. Gabby has outstanding organizational skills. She can successfully complete multiple tasks with favorable results despite deadline pressure. 

“Her ability to prioritize tasks and manage her time is well demonstrated by her academic achievements and her participation in extracurricular activities.”

At SDSU, Robbins holds a 3.9 GPA, is a member of Women in Construction, and tutors in English, accounting I and trigonometry through the Trio program.

This summer Robbins is interning with Scull Construction, which is renovating Rapid City Central High School. She said, “Translating what I learned in college and applying that to the field is really a learning process.” Robbins has been working on submittals, contracts and other parts of the construction process while working under a project manager.

After graduation, Robbins plans to work for a general contractor working on large projects in bigger cities, but she eventually wants to return to the family company and carry Lester-Robbins into the next generation.