ACE Mentor hosts 19th Annual Scholarship Luncheon

ACE Mentor Program hosted its 19th Annual Scholarship Luncheon on May 19, at the Mandarin Oriental, located in Columbus Circle. The sold-out event honored three construction industry leaders for their dedication to the ACE Mentor Program and mentoring youth for long-term careers in the construction and design industries. This year's honorees were Stuart Koshner, managing partner of RCDolner LLC; Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of NY & NJ; and Victoria Cerami, CEO of Cerami & Associates, Inc. The luncheon served as an annual fundraising event for the ACE Mentor Scholarship program which aims to engage, excite and enlighten high school students to pursue careers in architecture, engineering and construction through mentoring. Scholarships were awarded to distinguished graduates of the program with the goals of studying architecture, construction or engineering. The New York Building Foundation Hurricane Sandy Recovery Fund, established in November 2012, has raised more than $240,000 to help assist affected families, support recovery programs and sponsor research. This year, the NYBF Sandy Recovery Fund donated $15,000 to ACE which was awarded to three students impacted by Sandy. ACE Mentor Program also announced the first annual "Vito V. Cerami Scholarship" awarded to a female mechanical engineering ACE student who shows a commitment to learning and helping others in honor of Victoria Cerami's father, who served as a mentor to the industry. This $10,000 scholarship is the largest amount awarded to any single student in ACE history. The ACE Mentor Program assembles teams of students to meet with mentoring firms throughout the school year at the firm offices. The students plan and design innovative projects mirroring real-world conditions, while mentors help them develop solutions using problem solving techniques and state-of-the-art design tools. The teams also tour construction sites and notable buildings to see firsthand what is required to design and erect these types of structures.