College - Author 1
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
Department - Author 1
Construction Management Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Construction Management
Date
5-2025
Primary Advisor/Subject Matter Expert (SME)
Joe Cleary, College of Architecture and Environmental Design, Construction Management Department
Abstract/Summary
Over the past four years, a team of interdisciplinary students and faculty from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), Heart of America, and generous industry sponsors (SOLV, Goal Zero, NextTracker, Elite, and TCB Builders) have brought their time, effort, and resources together to complete a service trip, called Skip the Grid. The trip’s primary goal is to provide a reliable source of power, light, and refrigeration to families with school age children in the Navajo Nation where these resources are absent or unreliable otherwise. This year’s trip took place over Cal Poly’s academic break from March 23rd to 27th, 2025 throughout the greater Chinle, Arizona location. The project team, consisting of 20 Cal Poly students, faculty, industry sponsors, and HOA trip directors, gathered in Northwest Arizona from various fields, backgrounds, and locations for a week of solar installations. By the end of three installation days and a handful of community engagement events, the team brought power to a total of 40 homes, interacted with a great number of Navajo families, taught hundreds of elementary school students the impact of solar, and collectively learned a great deal from Navajo life and culture.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cmsp/858
Poster Board