Leading companies from Portland’s design-and-build community gathered at the Portland Art Museum on April 20 to celebrate students and raise scholarship money for the ACE Mentor Program, as the Daily Journal of Commerce reported.
ACE is a model after-school program that helps high school students explore careers in architecture, construction management and engineering. Students work in small teams on a project, assisted by volunteer mentors who are all industry professionals.
More than 150 students from 42 metro-area high schools are participating in Portland’s ACE program this year. More than 50 leading firms are providing mentors, financial support or both. The ACE annual luncheon is the organization’s largest fundraiser, providing critical funding for program support and college scholarships.
Scholarship winners will be announced in mid-May at the students’ final presentations. Last year, ACE awarded $72,000 in scholarships to 16 seniors.
Guest speakers at the luncheon were Tom Koehler and Amy Kohnstamm, chair and vice chair of the Portland Public Schools Board of Education. They shared a progress report from the district’s 2012 voter-approved construction bond and urged attendees to support the $790 million bond proposal on the May ballot.
Singled out for special recognition at this year’s luncheon were Hoffman Construction and the Andersen Construction Foundation. Hoffman is ACE’s leading sponsor, and Andersen provided funding this year for a couple lucky students to attend ACE National’s Summer Camp in Colorado.
The ACE Mentor Program of Oregon is an independent nonprofit staffed by the Portland Workforce Alliance.
