Students can gain experience and practice with science based careers through the new ACE program, which is starting through a partnership between the science department and Mortenson construction.

ACE, which stands for architecture construction and engineering, is designed for students to get a first-hand look at possible careers.

The head of the science department, Mark Miller, explained what students will do through this program.

“They are assigned a problem and they engineer a solution to that problem. They work with Mortenson construction and other team members to try to solve the problem,” Miller said.

Teachers hope 15-25 students will take interest in the project to form a team. The team will work Thursdays after schools to meet with mentors and work through the problem they’re given together.

“It sounds like a perfect program for me because it will teach me a lot about architecture construction and engineering,” Junior Justin Less said.

Science teacher Al Wachutka said he expects to be one of the main teachers working with the students through the program. Wachutka said a large focus of this program is to increase underrepresented ethnicities in the industry and to provide all students with an idea of what jobs could be out there for them.

“I just think it’s a good opportunity,” Wachutka said. “We do a real good job for those people going to four-year schools. I think we support pretty well the students who have learning roadblocks. I don’t think there’s a whole lot for a kid that isn’t on either end of the spectrum and we need to focus more on there and [the ACE program] is really open to all levels of students.”

Aside from meeting with mentors from ACE careers, students also have the opportunity to go on field trips to get a first-hand look at job sites. According to Wachutka, there may even be a chance to visit the construction site of the new Vikings stadium.

“That would be an amazing experience, not only because I love the Vikings, but also to observe how people in the real world use the stuff I’m learning right now,” Less said.

At the end of the program students in the ACE team will have a chance to present the solution they’ve been working on throughout the year at an event held at the University of Minnesota.

“I’m kind of excited, it will be not only interesting to see what other people will do, but it will be exciting to see how you’ve progressed over the year and how you’ve learned over the program,” Junior Madison Vignes said.

According to Wachutka, in addition to offering experience in future careers options, the ACE Mentor program can offer scholarships for schools.

Students interested in architecture construction and engineering can talk to their science teachers about getting involved in this program.