Three high school students involved in a yearlong commitment to learn more about architecture, construction and engineering received scholarships to pursue their academic goals. Their final projects, displayed at UTC, are considered in the scholarship selection process.
From a field of nearly twenty students, Courtney Keehan, Kristen Hopper and Sam Dickson were selected by the local chapter of the Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program to each receive a $2,500 scholarship. This funding is donated by local construction, engineering, and architectural firms.
Established in 2009, the ACE Mentor Program has included Dr. Neslihan Alp, UC Foundation Professor and Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, Department Head of Engineering Management and Technology, who has served as the University Representative of the program’s Executive Board.
“The main purpose of the ACE program is to inform these high school students about the Architecture, Construction, and Engineering professions by providing a mentoring program with the guidance of professionals who volunteer and explain these professions through their work experiences. They also help the students to design a team project. These projects were presented at the end of the school year at the UTC University Center,” Alp said.
Following the 2010 distribution of ACE Mentor Program scholarships, Alp explained that two of the awardees became students in the UTC Construction Management program and one was enrolled in UTC’s Civil Engineering program.
Keehan, a graduating senior from Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences, is interested in architecture and design; Hopper, a senior at Chattanooga Center for Creative Arts, would like to pursue drafting/design curriculum and the construction industry and Dickson, a graduating senior from Chattanooga Christian School, wants to learn about mechanical or agricultural engineering.
The not-for-profit ACE Mentor Program is a partnership between high schools in Chattanooga and north Georgia, universities, architects, interior designers, engineers, construction management companies, professional organizations. Students and their mentors from these various design/build industries meet approximately 15 times a year to work on a design project that is presented at the end of the season.
To become a sponsor, a mentor, or a participating student call Brittany Scott at 423 752-3438, ext. 123.
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