Summit Design + Build hosts ACE Mentor Program of Greater Tampa Bay

Recently, the Tampa office of Summit Design + Build had the privilege of presenting to an impressive group of high school students from the ACE Mentor Program of Greater Tampa Bay. This free, award-winning afterschool program is offered to students interested in pursuing careers in the Architecture, Construction and Engineering industry. The success of the program is clear with over 70% of ACE seniors either going on to a skilled trades program or to college with an industry-related major. With more than 70 chapters operating across 37 states, the ACE Mentor Program awards approximately $2.5 million in scholarships annually, as well as offering students summer camp and internship opportunities.

Lead by Summit’s Tampa project management team, Courtnei Watts and Tsvetan Sirakov, the presentation on site logistics aimed to provide a real-world perspective on the complexities and challenges of running a successful construction project. The scholars learned about overcoming challenges like site access, materials storage and staging, anticipating human behavior and taking steps in advance to ensure adherence to policies and regulations that have been put in place. The students were shown that no project happens in a vacuum and that there are innumerable external factors that need to be taken into account, some in our control and some not.

This invaluable perspective that our talented project managers were able to provide is what this program is all about. The ACE Mentor Program gives the next generation of construction industry professionals a window into the world outside of the classroom and provides them tools they’ll need to succeed in it. We at Summit Design + Build are honored to be among the many mentors that have volunteered and contributed their time and experience to give back to the young participants of the ACE program.

Images from the Event