Washington, DC

About Us

Started in 2000, the ACE Mentor Program of the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area 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.

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. This year, we awarded 12 scholarships valued at $49,500. Over the years, we have presented 59 seniors with scholarships totaling $176,500.

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.

Our Team Projects

During our 2006-2007 program year, each of ACE Washington, D.C.’s eight multi-disciplinary teams tailored its program to inform, challenge and actively engage its members. Team activities consisted of construction site tours and visits to college campuses, as well as “hands-on” projects designed to help students learn architecture and engineering design fundamentals.

The program year concluded with formal team project presentations at the American Institute of Architects’ national headquarters. Following the presentations, we awarded certificates to all students and mentors.

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.