Sending a special shoutout to our Akron, OH office for their efforts working with the ACE (Architecture-Construction-Engineering) Mentor Program. They have been involved with the local ACE Mentorship chapter since 2019 and have piloted the program at 2different schools.
Dana Mitchell has been instrumental in orchestrating most of the involvement, and there have been a handful of employees who have spent countless hours volunteering across approximately 6 different high schools in the area! It’s through this program that architecture, construction, and engineering are not only better explained to these students, but career pathways are revealed, and doors are opened.
PRIME AE has hosted over a dozen of these students in Career Shadowing Days and have even hired one as a summer intern. ACE Mentorship gives the students a taste of what is to work in this field, but also strengthens PRIME’s ties to the community and commitment to giving back to our profession and our community.
“Volunteering with ACE seems to be beneficial to the students interested in our field of work, but it has also been eye-opening and inspiring to me as an architect. This profession isn’t for everyone, and ACE serves as a nice “sampler platter” for those interested. The few students who maintain that interest really get into it, and it creates this atmosphere where us mentors can reignite that passion for what we do on a day-to-day basis. I wish I had this program offered to me when I was in high school.” – Zach Forney, ACE Mentor for 3 years
Student A’Nyia Jones and Architect Zach Forney
Student Spotlight: One of our interns and ACE member, Peter Van Blargan, has spent his summer working with our transportation team. He was recently awarded a $7,000 in Affiliate and Alumni Scholarships by the program ahead of returning to The Ohio State University for the next semester!
PRIME AE Intern Peter Van Blargan
Read more about ACE’s program and their special shoutouts to our Akron team members on LinkedIn HERE.