The ACE Mentor Program of Northeast Florida held its annual year-end event on April 29th at The Schultz Center in Jacksonville, where high school student participants presented final projects and 23 scholarships were distributed to local Jacksonville-area students.
The program helps high school students explore potential careers in architecture, construction and engineering, the organization said in a May 19 statement.
Through the program, students worked in teams with industry mentors to create practical solutions for “real-world” projects. Students presented their final project in front of jurors last month at the Schultz Center.
Best Overall Response winning teams included three Creekside High School teams for their Urban Renewal, Strong + Sustainable and Memorial of the Future Responses as well as Pedro Menendez High School for their Urban Renewal Response.
Over the past 15 years, the Northeast Florida Affiliate of the ACE Mentor Program has offered scholarships to students planning to attend post-secondary education and training leading to careers in architecture, engineering, construction or the skilled trades. This year, the nonprofit organization awarded more than $27,000 in scholarships. Recipients from Clay, Duval and St. Johns County Schools demonstrated exceptional work ethic and relationship building with industry professionals. The industry sponsor and named scholarship recipients included:
- HCA Healthcare Scholarship, Alexander Simes from Creekside High School
- ABC First Coast Women’s Council Scholarship, Kamryn Wright from Middleburg High
School - ACE Founders Scholarship, Tatiana Johnson from Riverside High School
- American-Electrical Contracting Scholarship, Ryan Flack from Creekside High School
- Baptist Health Scholarship, Brandon Stowell-Campos from Nease High School
- DPR Construction Scholarship, Sydney Antal from Bartram Trail High School
- Florida Healthcare Engineers Association Scholarship, Siri Jonnalagadda from Nease
High School - Gilbane Construction Scholarship, John Cratem from Bishop Kenny High School
- Haskell Scholarship, Isaac Ernst from the Home School Team
- Haskell Scholarship, Alyssa Buckingham from Creekside High School
- S. David Painting Scholarship, Joy Akingbola from Riverside High School
- Stellar Scholar, Sydney Lynch from Creekside High School
- Whiting-Turner Construction, Corrigan Rotz from Creekside High School
Additional scholarship winners sponsored by the affiliate included Shaan Chudgar from Creekside High School, Brayden Cobb from Atlantic Coast High School, Jacob Denson from Creekside High School, Laila Langley from Riverside High School, Sean Lovely from Riverside High School, Anquon Neeley from Riverside High School, Joelle Nguyen from Atlantic Coast High School, Brandon Ruckh from Creekside High School and Brady Schaffstein from Nease High School.
Northeast Florida Junior Mentor Anthony Andrade was also awarded a scholarship. Anthony is a mentor at Pedro Menedez High School, pursuing a career in construction management at the University of North Florida.
This year, with 70 mentors participating from local AEC firms, the program was expanded to 10 locations including Atlantic Coast High School, Bartram Trail High School, Bishop Kenny High School, Creekside High School, Middleburg High School, Orange Park High School, Nease High School, Pedro Menendez High School, Riverside High School and a Home School Team.
ACE Mentor Program of Northeast Florida is currently looking for mentors, guest speakers, and sponsors for the 2022-2023 program. To learn more, visit www.acementor.org/northeast-fl.