For more than two decades, STV has been an ardent supporter of theACE (Architecture Construction Engineering) Mentor Program of America, helping to introduce hundreds of high school students from around the country to careers in design and construction.
So it’s no surprise that over the past school year, STV has expanded its involvement with the nationally recognized program by launching new teams in two of its largest offices in the Northeast: Boston and Philadelphia.
“The program presents the opportunity to spark an interest in several different engineering disciplines and professions,” said STV Vice President and Engineering Chief in Boston, Mark Ennis, P.E.. “It’s my hope that the interactions with industry mentors help make these careers more realistic and achievable.”
Before launching its first team for the 2021-22 school year, STV’s Boston team sought insights from the firm’s New York employees, who have been participants in the ACE Mentor Program of Greater New York for nearly 20 years. To help build its expertise, the Boston group partnered with mentors from outside the firm who represented electrical, civil, and mechanical engineering, and construction disciplines.
Over the next six months, the team worked with approximately 50 junior and senior high school students from the Boston Metropolitan area, introducing them to industry concepts through a series of activities, including a mock planning project at the Northeastern University site. At the end of the program, students were given the opportunity to present their final projects to an audience of ACE members and fellow mentees, and showcase their new grasp of complex technical concepts.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, STV recently formed together two specialized teams to serve students in the area as part of the ACE Mentor Program of Greater Philadelphia. One team consisted of STV’s vehicle engineering experts, who developed a series of activities that focused on topics that included rail train wheels and crash management. The second group featured employees from STV’s highway and bridge group, whose own presentations culminated in hands-on structural activities for the student mentees.
“It’s a great way to get students interested in different STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Mathematics) topics, and I wanted to take part,” said Engineering Specialist Lauren Garoppo. “I think it’s important to help them conceptualize career paths through hands-on experience, and it’s been awesome to see how excited they are, and how much they’re learning.”
To learn more about the ACE Program and become involved, visit their website:https://www.acementor.org/