Hartford, CT – The Hartford Chapter of the ACE Mentor Program of Connecticut is an organization for high school students interested in architecture, construction, and engineering (ACE). Experts and professionals in these fields from the Greater Hartford community mentor students and give them hands-on “real world” experiences. One such experience was accomplished through a structural design competition held at Tecton Architects’ office on November 19, an annual event that brings together all the Hartford ACE students and mentors at the beginning of each program year to foster teamwork and creative thinking.
The program began with a brief discussion on the merits of ACE led by Filipe Pereira, a former ACE scholarship award-winner who is currently a student at Wentworth Institute of Technology and an architectural intern at The S/L/A/M Collaborative. Pereira also offered pointers to Hartford ACE students interested in pursuing careers in the ACE industry. Next, ACE Mentor Bill Fluhr of Szewczak Associates presented an overview of structural engineering. Applying the principles learned in Fluhr’s presentation, Hartford ACE students were then challenged to design towers using just 50 strands of spaghetti, glue guns, and glue. Students had 1 hour to design and build 9.5-inch tall towers. The ACE Mentors from Tecton Architects, BVH Integrated Services, Steffian Bradley Architecture, KBE Building Corporation, JCJ Architecture, Gilbane Building Company, and Lindgren & Sharples assisted students by answering questions, measuring the weight of the towers, and testing their strength. Finally, students presented their completed towers to the ACE Mentors.
“The ACE Mentor Program’s mission and track record of success is contributing greatly to the future of our industry,” says Thomas Bronson of BVH Integrated Services who has served as an ACE mentor for the last 10 years. “I enjoy working with both high school students and other mentors to attract young people to our profession.”
The ACE Mentor Program of America, a 501(c)(3) organization, currently operates in 64 affiliates covering 40 states and over 200 cities. This year alone, over 8,000 students and almost 5,000 mentors participated in the program; 70% are minorities and 40% are young women. Over $14 million in scholarships have been awarded. In Connecticut, 200 students participate each year with chapters in Hartford, New Britain, New Haven, Waterbury, and Bridgeport.
