ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston, the free after-school program run by local design and construction professionals with the goal of encouraging high school students to pursue careers in the architecture, construction and engineering industries, launches their 2020-2021 virtual program beginning the week of October 19, 2020. The program provides a unique opportunity for high school students, grades 9-12, to learn about design and construction from mentors who currently work in those fields.
Diversity and inclusion has remained a top priority for the ACE Mentor Program over the years. Seventeen percent of ACE college seniors in mechanical, electrical and civil engineering are African American compared to only six percent nationally. Similarly, only 12 percent of first-year college students studying in those fields nationally are Hispanic compared to 25 percent of students in the ACE program.
The 2020-2021 program is shifting to a virtual format to continue to meet the needs of students. To meet those needs, some activities will include virtual tours of constructions sites, engineering labs, and professional offices to give students a sense of what real-life work environments are like in respective industries of architecture, construction and engineering. The program will meet once a week online in the fall through early spring, and students will be provided with take-home kits to work on assignments remotely. For this year’s major project, students will design and create a plans for a home working within certain budget in addition to specific environmental and project requirements.
“We’re pleased to be fully equipped to take on the challenges of virtual learning,” said Casey Williams, ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston’s newly appointed president. “We continually adapt to better help our students prepare for opportunities in the A/C/E industry. With the help of companies aligned with our program, and with the support of our partners, we will continue to diligently ensure each student will take away the same knowledge and connection with mentors the in-person program would offer.”
The virtual program is adding Dyer Brown and Related Beal to the strong list of participating firms and will also be adding a new host site at Roxbury Community College. Also, in an effort to continue growing inclusion efforts, the ACE team is collaborating with the Boston Chapter of the National Association of Minority Architects (NOMA) for the upcoming year.
The mentors will meet with the students via Zoom on a weekly basis from one of the following locations: Northeastern University (Mondays), Wentworth Institute of Technology (Tuesdays), Roxbury Community College (Tuesdays), Boston Society of Architects (Wednesdays) or Symmes Maini & McKee Associates Inc. (Wednesdays).
Students will reap the benefits of working with mentors who are full-time architects, engineers and project managers for companies such as, Turner Construction Company, Gilbane Building Company, Boylston Properties, and Perkins + Will, learning valuable skills and practices of working at a construction site and developing the unique skills needed to maneuver design and construction software programs. The students also have the ability to build professional contacts in their field of work, potentially leading to more high school and college internship opportunities.
Currently, the ACE Mentor Program has fundraised an exceptional total of $189,138 for the upcoming year. With the support from donors, sponsors and partners, the fundraised money will further support the virtual program by providing an interactive, hands-on experience as best as possible. In addition, students who participate in the program also have the opportunity to receive a scholarship to further their education in their specific industry of choice. At the spring 2020 final presentation, the program awarded $152,000 in scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $11,000, to graduating high school seniors who participated in the 2019-2020 program.
For more information on the ACE after-school program, please visit the ACE of Greater Boston website.
To sign up for the program, visit the registration site.
About ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston
ACE of Greater Boston was launched in 2007 and is one of 70-plus affiliates under the ACE national umbrella. Through practical, project-based, hands-on explorations, students work collaboratively and creatively to design innovative solutions to real world problems. With professional guidance by esteemed industry mentors who are full-time employees of construction, design and engineering firms, students embark on a five-month design project, through weekly sessions after school, to develop the professionalism, teamwork, and collaboration that the industry requires. During this time, the students construct a hypothetical project in order to learn about each discipline and take part in activities such as site visits, scavenger hunt, Revit training and trade day.
