Washington, DC

Greater DC Cares
2010 Community Impact Award Winner

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About Us

Started in 2000, the ACE Mentor Program of the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area, Inc. (ACE DC) is a partnership of architects, construction managers, engineers, designers, professional societies and organizations, high schools and universities.

Through this partnership, we provide mentors who guide student teams from the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and Maryland public schools as they explore educational and career opportunities in architecture, construction and engineering. The teams meet every other week after school.

ACE DC has active teams in:

• Arlington County
• City of Alexandria
• District of Columbia
• Fairfax County
• Montgomery County
• Prince George's County
• Prince William County

Our Programs

The teams meet every other week after school, or more frequently depending on student interest. During our program year (October - May), each of ACE DC's multi-disciplinary teams tailors its program to inform, challenge and actively engage its members.

Team activities include:

• Construction site tours
• Professional office visits
• Guided excursions to college compuses
• "Hands-on" projects designed to help students learn architecture, engineering and construction industry fundamentals

The program year concludes with formal team project presentations at the American Institute of Architects' national headquarters in Washington, D.C. Following presentations, we award completion to all students and mentors.

Our Scholarships

Since our interest in these students extends to their eventual successful education and employment in the design and construction industry, we provide college scholarships to selected graduates. To date, we have awarded $272,000 in college scholarships to 84 high school graduates.

In addition to scholarships, our mentor firms offer summer jobs to qualified students, and universities keep in close touch with our program to identify potential applicants for admission.

Participate in ACE!

If you’d like to experience ACE’s challenges, opportunities and rewards for yourself, just contact the ACE leader listed in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

ACE Washington DC Students Provide Testimony to City Council on DC Schools Master Facilities Plan

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ACE Washington DC Students selected to attend University of Maryland School of Architecture Young Scholars Summer Program

View article.