JRS Architect, P.C. gives back with ACE Mentor Program

The Architecture Construction Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program is a national, not-for-profit organization that helps prepare high school students for careers in design and construction. Industry professionals volunteer to become mentors to students to introduce them to the professions and encourage them to pursue careers in these fields. JRS principal Alex Hadjiyane started the Long Island chapter of ACE and the firm has been an active force in the program for years. Representing JRS as mentors this year were junior project manager Dan Dziomba and junior project manager Brian Eichhorn. This was Dziomba's fourth time as a mentor and Eichhorn's first. Each year the chapter hosts anywhere from 15 to 20 teenagers who are then divided into 3 teams. Starting with a kick-off in October, Dziomba and Eichhorn met with their team every two weeks at Chase Bank's offices in Garden City - Chase sponsors the chapter. Each team takes on a construction design assignment similar to the ones professionals work on every day. Their team decided on a ground-up luxury hotel to be sited on Jones Beach. The students planned, scheduled and estimated their project. They then constructed the project, which in this instance took the form of a 3-D rendering. To cap off the 2009 program, student teams from area chapters presented their design solutions in May at a gathering attended by mentors, families and teachers at Chase Metrotech in Brooklyn. The special event concluded with the awarding of scholarships. Participating student Steven Korzeniowski shared his thoughts about the program, "Working with professionals to organize, design, and create a model project was a great learning experience. The ACE mentor program really helped me experience different parts of a project. The knowledge that I have gained from the mentors will be remembered and will help me continue my success in architecture." Dziomba and Eichhorn expressed the great satisfaction they each felt at watching young people grow through ACE and both look forward to participating in 2010. Alex Hadjiyane noted the benefits to the professions that can be directly linked to ACE. "Having worked with the program for about a decade, I'm now seeing ACE alumni graduating college, joining industry firms, and coming back as mentors themselves. You can't ask for more than that."