Ace Mentor Program of Illinois

Awarded 98 college scholarships for the 2022-2023 school year.

A select group of the students from the after school Program apply to and are accepted into a design build workshop Program over the summer. 28 student scholarships and 7 teaching assistant scholarships were awarded during the 2022-2023 school year for two design build workshop programs that took place over the summer of 2023. The students and college aged teaching assistants, who are Ace alumni, work collaboratively to design and build something to specifically meet the needs of a community-based client. Students in the 7-week Program are awarded a one-time $1,500 college scholarship, and teaching assistants are awarded a one-time $2,500 scholarship for their participation in the Program. Students in the 4-week Program are awarded a one-time $1,000 college scholarship, and teaching assistants are awarded a one-time $2,000 scholarship for their participation in the Program.

Mentoring- this is a year-round after-school Program that introduces high school students from the chicago area to career opportunities in architecture, construction and engineering. Throughout the 17 weeks of the Program, students work alongside professional mentors and their peers from across the region to respond to a design challenge. Select students are awarded college scholarships, paid internships, and design build apprenticeships to encourage their career pathway in the Ace professions.during the 2022-2023 school year, 256 students from numerous citywide high schools (primarily chicago public schools) participated on teams with mentors from professional a/e/c firms.

Ace has put much effort into tracking the success of our alumni - students who have graduated from our high school Program and are now in college or in the profession. To this end, we've created programs that assist with networking, internship searches, and resume and portfolio workshops to support these alumni and help them be successful in their career pathway.