Some DSST: Montview students are part of the ACE Mentor Program of America (ACE), created to encourage high school students into pursuing careers in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering industry, including skilled trades.
It is an after-school program where students are put into teams intended to emulate an actual design team. The meet once a week and learn skills needed for ACE careers. They also participate in field trips to construction sites and other learning opportunities.
We asked Knights participating in the ACE Mentor Program about their hands-on internship experience. Here is what some of them had to say.
Angel Dominguez, 11th Grade
"In general, the engineering (part of ACE- Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) got me interested because I really wanted to do a lot of hands-on things as I explore my different options and fields. Since there are so many different branches of engineering, I wanted to see what each one was like and which one I would like the best. Right now, I'm thinking about Mechanical Engineering.
One highlight of this program is the hands-on projects we can do with friends and classmates. Right now, we're making a general design for the extension of the airport. We're sketching it out, seeing what kind of requirements we're supposed to implement into this project, and the space we have to work with. It's a fun program, I really like it."
Samuel Abraham, 12th Grade
"For our (junior year) internship class, one of my teachers pushed me to join the ACE Program because I wanted to be an architect. Next year, I plan on going to CU Denver to become an architect.
I really did enjoy it a lot, especially designing everything and learning about all the different elements. They really do go into detail with tips and tricks for architecture. I joined again this year to see if I can learn anything new and have fun.
Shout out to our mentors Shawn and Andi for setting up a majority of this programming.
We're going to be designing and building an additional part of the Denver Airport. We all get to have our own take on it and compete against other programs."
Andi Vicksman-Godfroy, ACE Program Mentor
"I've been an ACE Program Mentor for four years. My first year was 2019-2020, which got cut short during COVID-19. We finished up that year virtual, did 2020-2021 virtual and from 2021 to now I've been at DSST: Montview.
I think it's really great that we have all students who want to be here and who are volunteering to be here. It's really cool that they're interested in architecture, construction, and engineering. My favorite part of being an engineer is talking to students who don't know what it means to be an engineer, teaching them about it, and really showing them what we do every day.
It's been really cool to see students continue again this year... to see them grow, already know a lot and get even more advanced in what they do."
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