Eric Sutterfield, a project executive for Nabholz, took an unconventional path into construction. As a child, Sutterfield loved heavy equipment so much that he would ask his parents to stop whenever they passed a construction site. Later, he developed an interest in basketball coaching and graduated from college with a degree in kinesiology.
“Kinesiology is the study of the human body and how it functions, how we use it, and how athletes use it for their sports,” Sutterfield said. “You have a lot of moving parts on your body, and they all have to work together to allow us to do the things we do from walking to running. Construction can be related to that. There are a lot of moving parts in a project.”
During his senior year of college, Sutterfield began reconsidering his career path while working for a small construction company. When he was given the opportunity to take on more of a project management role, he discovered how much he enjoyed working with owners, architects, and subcontractors.
“I love getting to meet with the owners and the design teams about the project and getting to see what kind of challenges that will hold, trying to figure those out, and working together as a team.”
Recently, Sutterfield had the opportunity to work on a project at his alma mater, South Side Bee Branch School District. The project was especially meaningful because Sutterfield attended the school, and his father served as the school’s superintendent for 15 years.
“I was the kid that got to go to the school board meeting and hide in the back corner. Though, I probably wasn’t listening too much at the time.”
South Side Bee Branch’s football program had been playing for three years without a home field of its own. When the school approached Nabholz early in the year, its goal was to host its first home game that fall. Following months of planning, Nabholz completed the new football facility on an accelerated construction schedule while students were out for summer break, allowing the team to play its first game on its own field.
