Superstars in Education RECOGNIZING EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION & TRAINING
Laying the Groundwork Hodgson VoTech High School’s ACE Mentor program turns passions into careers BY KELLY BASILE LEARNING WHILE DOING. Hands-on learning with real-life scenarios is one of the most effective strategies for young people to learn the skills and expertise needed for a job. More importantly, it offers the chance to truly visualize what it’s like to have a career in a particular industry. Founded in 1994, the ACE Mentor Program is a nationwide program designed to do just that—introduce students to the wide range of career opportunities in the fields of architecture, construction, engineering, or ACE. Recognizing the need to create a talent pipeline for these industries in Delaware, Cooperative Education Coordinator Chris Moxley brought the program to Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School in 2012. Many drafting students come to Hodgson with a passion for design and desire to create, but don’t know how to convert that to a career path,” explained Moxley. “ACE Mentor connects students with real world 24
professionals and brings classroom curriculum to life. The connections built as a result can literally change a student’s future.” ACE Mentor’s mission has two simple goals: to connect practicing professionals with the next generation of their workforce and to inspire high school students to pursue careers in design and construction. Broken into multi-grade teams, students spend 16 weeks learning the fundamentals of a construction project from site selection to design, procurement, and finally construction. As an after-school program, student project teams meet with mentors once a week to prepare and deliver comprehensive development plans. In March, students present their projects at ACE’s Yearly Awards Breakfast—attended by industry professionals, state legislators, school district personnel, and parents. Recent projects examples include University of Delaware student dormitory and May / Jun e 2022
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