South Enders Recieve ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston Awards

ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston, the free after-school program run by award-winning design and construction professionals with the goal of encouraging high school students to pursue careers in the architecture, construction and engineering industries, awarded a record-high $168,000 in scholarships to 27 deserving seniors enrolled in ACE's 2020-2021 program, held virtually this year.
With more support from donors, sponsors, and partners than ever before, the fundraised money helps provide financial assistance to a select number of graduating seniors as they continue to pursue their education at the collegiate level. The scholarships vary in amount from $1,000 — $13,000 each. This year, the program was grateful to have continued support from their sponsors, all of which contributed to a scholarship for a student. The sponsored scholarship donors include Consigli Construction, Prellwitz Chilinski Associates, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Superior Plumbing, ARUP, PIDC Construction and D.A. Bosworth Company.
South End residents Kevin Tan (Community Charter School of Cambridge) and Karen Mai (Boston Latin School) have both received scholarships for their hard work.
"In what has been such a challenging year for so many students and families, the exponential growth of the ACE program is nothing short of spectacular," said Casey Williams, president of the ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston. "We are beyond thankful for all our donors, sponsors, and partners for supporting us throughout the pandemic. This year, we were able to not only help more students on a financial level, but we have been able to connect with more students than ever before and teach them about these evolving industries."
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the annual showcase, as well as the entire program, looked a bit different this year as it was held completely virtual. Although shifting to a remote format came with its challenges, the program was able to expand their outreach footprint as regions beyond the Greater Boston area had accessibility to the unique mentoring from industry professionals.
As a result of the knowledge and experience received during their tenure in ACE Mentor of Greater Boston program, many graduating seniors have plans to continue their education by attending college and majoring in architecture, mechanical engineering, business management, civil engineering and mathematics — to name a few.
For more information on the ACE after-school program and ways to sign up for information sessions leading up to the launch of the 2021 — 2022 program, please visit the ACE of Greater Boston website.
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.