Delaware
Since our affiliate’s establishment in 2010, High school students in the Delaware area are now able to benefit from the ACE Mentoring Program. This nationwide program is designed to introduce them to the wide range of career opportunities open to young people in the fields of architecture, construction, engineering, and related areas of the building design and construction industry.
At weekly meetings, student teams work directly with professionals from leading area firms, who volunteer their time to mentor the teams as they design hypothetical projects, tour local construction sites, and visit architectural, engineering and construction offices.
For students, it’s a unique chance to discover and develop new skills, solidify future goals and get on track to exciting, rewarding careers. In addition, many students form positive relationships with industry professionals who can provide important references for obtaining college admissions, scholarships, internships and full-time employment.
Many ACE affiliates culminate their program year with special events at which teams present their concepts to mentors, families, teachers and community leaders.
Students in the ACE program work closely with their mentors on projects that provide hands-on experience in solving the types of design, engineering and construction challenges industry professionals confront every day. The teams learn the basic fundamentals of a construction project from site selection, to design, procurement and finally construction. In addition to the basic fundamentals students are also exposed to advanced computerized design tools, such as AutoCAD and BIM (Building Information Systems).
Some of the more recent projects which were worked on by the students have been a new waterfront commercial building, a new university student dining facility, athletic facility and library/community center.
Through the yearly project and related activities students quickly learn about the industry’s demand for young people skilled in math, physics, economics, art and other disciplines.
Students work throughout the year to prepare and deliver comprehensive development plans for that year’s chosen site. The culmination of this preparation is the year end presentations. These presentations are typically delivered to a group of the student’s peers and various industry professionals at an end of the year breakfast.
Each year the mentors and Board of Directors identify exemplary students and award scholarships to those deserving individuals to assist in furthering their career development through college or trade school. To date ACE Mentor of Delaware has awarded $30,000.00 in scholarships!
Student testimonial about the ACE Mentor Program
Read Testimonial
Shawn Crowley
Phone: 302-984-1400
Cell: 484-667-9521
Our board is comprised of local industry leaders who make a significant contribution to our affiliate. We are grateful for their continuing support.
2019-2020 Board of Directors
If you’d like to experience ACE’s challenges, opportunities and rewards for yourself, contact us today!
My time in ACE was invaluable. After speaking with architects and engineers, I was able to understand these professions and decide on my career goals. With a group of peers I was able to get a feel of what a major construction project is like. Our team formulated a goal, and we accomplished it together.
