ACE Mentoring aims to grow next generation of architects, engineers in Akron, Canton

As a Black male architect, Dana Mitchell knows he's a rarity in his field.

Just 2% of architects are Black, according to a 2021 industry report.

As the senior vice president for architecture and engineering firm PRIME AE, Mitchell also knows what it means to other students, especially those of color, who are interested in the field to see someone like him in that job.

That's why Mitchell jumped at the chance to be involved in the Akron-Canton chapter of the ACE Mentoring Program, which is now in four schools in Akron Public Schools and one in Canton City Schools.

"There’s not a high level of Black architects even that you can point to, let alone have interaction with, on any kind of regular basis," Mitchell said. "It’s important not only for people of diverse backgrounds but just people in general that are in our profession to introduce what we do and the exciting and benefits and the fun that we have being architects and engineers and constructors."

After two tough years during the pandemic, ACE — which stands for architecture, construction and engineering — is working to recruit students and industry professionals to the after-school program.

Students from the five schools — Akron's Firestone, Garfield and Ellet community learning centers and Early College High School, and Canton's McKinley Senior High School — have the chance to meet every other week for two hours with professionals in the ACE fields, and over the course of the year, work on a hands-on design project. At the end of the year, ACE holds a banquet and each school presents its project, competition-style. McKinley is the reigning champion.

'Invaluable experience' to meet those already doing the job

That's where Mitchell volunteers his time and where he met Amir Stokes, a McKinley graduate now in his freshman year at Ohio State University.

A lover of math, Stokes had an interest in engineering and joined the ACE program.

"I think the experience is invaluable just because you can actually talk to people doing that job," Stokes said. "You can reach out, you can touch them, you can connect with them, you can see their personality type."

As a Black student, Stokes said it was important to him to meet Mitchell and see someone like himself in a job similar to what he wants to do.

He plans to student mechanical engineering in college, and has more than mentoring help from ACE. The program presented him with $25,000 in scholarship money at the banquet this spring.

ACE seeking to grow, diversity the fields

Dennis Check, chairman of the board for the Akron-Canton ACE chapter, said the scholarships come from donations and other fundraising the program does over the year. The national ACE organization also contributed to Stokes' scholarship. The program is free for students to join, and everyone except for one administrator is a volunteer.

Check, president of Hasenstab Architects, said he loves to talk about what architects do, whether it be to kindergarteners — his wife is a kindergarten teacher — or high school seniors, so ACE was a natural fit.

"It's a rewarding experience to get through to some of these kids who may not otherwise have exposure to what we do," Check said. "And that's what our program is all about."

Students not only learn about the ACE fields, they learn to work in a group, solve problems, take on leadership roles and present in front of large groups of people — skills that will be important for whatever next steps they take after high school.

The program is for any student, but it also seeks to diversify and grow the field.

"I think that the architecture and engineering professions have a ways to go before we achieve the level of diversity that we want to have and that would benefit our respective professions," Check said.

ACE helps students confirm or rule out career path

Nathan Cebula, a project architect with GPD Group, said the program gives firms a chance to look at the talent pool four to eight years out.

Cebula has been one of the mentors at Akron's Firestone CLC. One of his earliest mentees, Allison Agosti, is now in her third year of the architecture program at University of Cincinnati.

It's been great to see her growth, Cebula said, and her commitment to the field.

"Honestly, it’s fun to see students who don’t really know what they want to do at times be able to be engaged with industry professionals and mentor them along and have them develop a career path, find a career path they like or check one off the list they don’t want to be involved in," he said.

ACE, he said, can either help solidify a path for a student or eliminate one, and both are success stories. Cebula said he sees the program as a way to help make a college degree more worthwhile if students have enough exposure to the field ahead of time to make sure they are making the best choice for themselves.

Cebula said he chose architecture on a bit of a whim after taking a drafting class in high school.

"That made me realize I really want to get involved in ACE, and if I can get someone to say, 'Hey, I want to do this,' that’s great. If I can get someone to say, 'Hey, that’s not for me,' that’s great because I helped them narrow down their career path," he said.

That's the same mission as Akron's College and Career Academies, rolled out in Akron high schools over the last five years. The academies have students picking a career path to focus on from sophomore through senior year, exposing them to fields like engineering, marketing, culinary arts and more ahead of graduating.

Program works alongside efforts of College and Career Academies

Assistant Superintendent Rachel Tecca, who was formerly the district's first director of the academies, said the ACE program compliments the work going on in the academies, which also feature real-world partnerships with industry professionals. ACE is another level beyond what the academies can offer, with bi-weekly face time with the same group of mentors.

"I think what it does do it gives a little bit more intense commitment of time and talent with a mentor and a small group of students," Tecca said. She said she was not aware of another similar program that offers that level of time and hands-on project work.

Over the years, ACE student projects have included designing a pavilion for Summit County Metro Parks and an aquarium and science center to go in downtown Akron.

Agosti, the Firestone graduate, said she's not sure yet what kind of architecture she wants to do. Her family's move to a new house when she was in middle school first sparked her interest in the design and structure of buildings, and ACE helped her turn that interest into a career path.

She was in the program for just one year, which was cut short by the pandemic, but said she still maintains contact with her mentors and was able to do a job shadow at their firm one summer. She hopes those relationships will lead to a job when she is done with school.

"I know that I have support back home from those people and I think that’s what keeps me going," she said. "I’ve got people on the other side who are rooting for me."

ACE is holding a training day for mentors Sept. 27. To get involved, go to www.acementor.org/affiliates/akron-oh/.

Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ACE Mentoring aims to grow architect, engineer fields in Akron, Canton