Newsletter | Nov/Dec 2017


ACE Mentoring Update

by Cameron White

Students completing ACE Mentoring

The ACE Mentoring program in Oakland will begin on January 24, kicked off by a mentor meeting on January 10. ACE stands for Architecture, Construction and Engineering, and is a program designed to introduce high school students to the industry, with an emphasis on diversity and students that might otherwise not be exposed to the field. Several OWA-DP members are participating this year: Rebecca Friedberg, Rachel Slonicki, Mui Ho and myself. The program will be held at Laney College.

In the 2017 season, OWA-DP generously provided a $1,000 scholarship to a young woman graduate who was interested in going into the field of architecture. The winner was Akshata Atre of Cupertino High School. Another young woman who was on the Oakland team also won a $1,000 scholarship: Karen Gonzalez. One of the students from a past year, Samantha Huang, has gone on to college and is now a mechanical engineer, and is going to be a mentor herself this year!

What is the commitment to be an ACE Mentor? Generally, it’s being available most every Wednesday afternoon from 4:30-6:45, from January 24 through May 9, 2018 to help the students with their projects and teach them about skills in architecture, construction and engineering. Another way to participate is as a judge of the final projects at the end of the season, or as a guest speaker or leader of a hands on activity.

I have found mentoring with ACE to be a rewarding experience. It’s fun to meet the students, get to know them better, and help them in deciding about careers.

If you’re interested in mentoring this coming year on the Oakland team, please let me know at cammyjwhite@gmail.com. There are ACE programs starting up in many other parts of the Bay Area, too. More information is available at acementor.org.


Students completing ACE Mentoring


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