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Special to the Real Deal
Celebrating ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland’s 10th Anniversary
Celebrating ACE Mentor Program of Cleveland’s 10th Anniversary
Building Future Leaders in Architecture,
Construction and Engineering
“Tonight is a celebration of the people
who have found a way to support CMSD student scholars.” - Cleveland
Metropolitan School District CEO and ACE Mentor Cleveland board member Eric
Gordon
By
Kim St. John-Stevenson
Local architects, builders, construction
leaders and engineers – and more importantly students – recently gathered at
two events designed to celebrate 10 years of academic achievement, mentoring
and scholarships for Cleveland area youth, youth who will contribute to our
region’s development.
The celebrations – ACE Mentor Cleveland’s
10th Anniversary Gala and the organization’s annual Presentation and
Scholarship Night – honored youth, mentors and industry leaders. The stars of both
events were students, past and present.
 |
| Warrensville HS students presenting at ACE Anniversary Gala |
Showcasing what they learned, students
from Warrensville High School and the John Hay School of Architecture and
Design shared presentations that were the culmination of a year’s worth of work
with ACE mentors and volunteers. The Warrensville team focused their
presentation on the revitalization of Warrensville Heights, while the John Hay
team – which took their project national when they competed against teams from
35 other affiliates – focused their efforts of development of a modular smart
house that could revolutionize home construction costs.
Following the presentations, Emeritus ACE
board member Thomas Laird of Gilbane Building Company thanked the students for
their energy and enthusiasm, noting that “every year, the bar gets raised just
a little higher.”
 |
| Javon Miller, Kent State |
Celebrating the anniversary and reaching
back were recurring themes throughout the evening. Javon Miller, an ACE alum from the
Warrensville team and current ACE Cleveland scholar at Kent State University,
took to the stage to say thank you and to encourage the young people to keep
moving forward. Javon first thanked the
many men and women who commit their time and their organization’s resources to
the after-school meetings, field trips, mentoring and internships that ACE
students experience. He then added some
advice for students: “Remember to have maturity, character and drive. Make
effective relationships.”
“This program is so valuable to your
collegiate and career future. So keep cultivating your character, building your
drive and establishing good relationships with your mentors. Those attributes
will carry you far in life.” – Javon Miller, former Warrensville
Heights ACE participant and scholarship recipient
 |
| Fred Geis and Brandon Moore of Geis Companies |
Fred Geis of Geis Companies took the
stage with Brandon Moore, a former ACE scholar who now works for Geis, to
highlight the importance of sponsor involvement in ACE work. “As industry
leaders, we can’t expect the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to take all
of the responsibility for [students] getting into our field. We need to expose
them.” Students like Brandon, who, Geis added, “got excited about what he could
learn about construction.”
 |
| 2018 ACE Mentor Program Winning Team from Warrensville Heights HS |
How
It All Began
It was a little over ten years ago that Laird,
new to the Cleveland area by way of Washington D.C., began discussions about
bringing the ACE Mentor Program to Cleveland. “From the very first meeting, I
knew we had to do ACE here,” he noted. Since then, the organization has grown
from one to eleven programs that engage nearly 200 students. In honor of his
contributions, this year the organization launched the inaugural Thomas Laird
Scholarship, a $5,000 scholarship awarded this year to Mohammed Khaled, a John
Hay graduate, who will be attending Cleveland State University as an
engineering student in the fall.
 |
| Maureen Westropp of Panzica Construction and Tim Lavelle of Gorman-Lavelle |
In 10 years, ACE Mentor Program Cleveland
has awarded more than $700,000 to students studying in architecture,
construction management and engineering (or related fields) and engaged
hundreds of industry professionals, representing over 60 companies in the work
of shaping future leaders.
In September 2017, ACE reported that 78%
of the ACE recipients from 2016/2017 and prior are either enrolled in college
or graduated. For comparison purposes, college graduation rate among U.S.
students who attended high poverty high schools is 18 percent per the National
Student Clearinghouse (2016). With the addition of the 2017/2018 freshmen, ACE
has funded a total of 111 students since 2010. Of those 111, 38% have majored
in Engineering, Architecture, Construction or Computer Science, with another 5%
majoring in Business, Accounting or Finance.
“Students, there is no straight line to
your career pathway. There are many paths to get to the many opportunities that
exist. I thank you for your commitment and encourage you to continue to grow,
continue to find ways to continue the good work. Seek that magic – it is well
worth the effort.” – Richard Mayer,
Senior Director –Construction Services for Sodexo USA/University Hospitals, ACE
Mentor Program sponsor
Congratulations
2018 Scholars!
 |
| ACE Mentor Program Cleveland 2018 Scholarship Recipients |
“I can’t put into words what ACE did for
me in my two years of participation. I was able to learn and excel - with the
help of all of my mentors. ACE helped a lot with my choice to study
architecture at Kent State University.” - Isidro Villa
 |
| Katie Chevalier Bawarski, ACE Director of Regional Programs, with Cleveland ACE Executive Director Glen Shumate |
The 2017-2018 academic year has come to a
close, and ACE Mentor Program Cleveland ended the year with a big bang as it
awarded 30 scholarships totaling $125,000 to graduating seniors from across
Northeast Ohio at its annual Presentation Night and Scholarship Dinner.
Additionally, the organization gave out the Tom Laird and Kendall King awards
and recognized the many scholarship sponsors and partners over the
organization’s 10-year history.
Kim
St. John-Stevenson is principal of Ink+ LLC, a strategic communications firm.
2018
ACE Mentor Program Scholarship Recipients
Name
|
High School
|
City of Residence
|
Chardajah
Martin
|
Collinwood
|
Cleveland
|
Taylor
Benford
|
High
Tech Academy
|
Cleveland
|
Georgia
Toomer
|
High
Tech Academy
|
Cleveland
|
Jack
Ovalles
|
James
Ford Rhodes
|
Cleveland
|
Nicole
Thornton
|
James
Ford Rhodes
|
Cleveland
|
Maysaa
Zaghari
|
James
Ford Rhodes
|
Cleveland
|
Jesse
Knight
|
James
Ford Rhodes
|
Cleveland
|
Lucero
Sandate
|
James
Ford Rhodes
|
Cleveland
|
JuTayjua
Hines
|
James
Ford Rhodes
|
Cleveland
|
Steven
Loomis
|
James
Ford Rhodes
|
Cleveland
|
Bakari
Ballard
|
John
Hay - Local
|
Maple
Heights
|
Justise
Porter
|
John
Hay - Local
|
Warrensville
Heights
|
Tyrese
Benson
|
John
Hay - Local
|
Maple
Heights
|
Courteney
Martin
|
John
Hay - Local
|
Cleveland
|
Mohammed
Khaled
|
John
Hay - National
|
Cleveland
|
Courtney
Alexander
|
John
Hay - National
|
Cleveland
Heights
|
Jasmine
Feller
|
John
Hay - National
|
Garfield
Heights
|
Jyae
McWilson
|
John
Hay - National
|
Cleveland
|
Juan
Mojica (Lopez)
|
John
Hay - National
|
University
Heights
|
Crystal
Webb
|
John
Hay - National
|
Cleveland
|
Ke'Shone
Williams
|
Max
Hayes
|
Cleveland
|
Nylah
Brown
|
Max
Hayes
|
Cleveland
|
Shamar
Hawkins
|
Max
Hayes
|
Cleveland
|
Tynazia
Powell
|
Max
Hayes
|
Cleveland
|
Shaqwon
Badley
|
Max
Hayes
|
Cleveland
|
Nealvon
Ezell
|
Max
Hayes
|
Cleveland
|
Logan
Conner
|
New
Tech West at Max Hayes
|
Lakewood
|
Oscar
Malave
|
New
Tech West at Max Hayes
|
Lakewood
|
William
Bailey
|
Warrensville
Heights
|
Warrensville
Heights
|
Ti'Naja
Peters
|
Warrensville
Heights
|
Warrensville
Heights
|
To learn more about ACE Mentor Program
Cleveland, contact Glen Shumate, Executive Director, at gshumate@ceacisp.org .
