Charleston, SC – May 17, 2017 – A group of local architects, contractors, and engineering professionals are doing their part to ensure the next generation is ready for the critical infrastructure and development related jobs in Charleston, and throughout the nation.
ACE Mentors of Charleston connects professionals with local classrooms for project-based learning and relationship building. Students work in teams on various aspects of large scale, multifaceted construction projects. The students choose the projects and all the elements to bring the design to a workable set of plans, and even a scale model in some cases.
Each year, to celebrate the students’ success and the investment of time by the many volunteers, a special banquet is held to allow each team to share a presentation on their chosen project.
The 2017 ACE Banquet was held at the Wolf Street Playhouse again, and Home Team BBQ was served, complete with cole slaw, mac & cheese, and iced tea.
This year, 3 CCSD schools participated in the ACE Mentoring program: Burke HS, St. Johns HS, and R. B. Stall HS.
Dinos Liollio, a 40 year veteran of the industry, provided the key note speech, and his chosen topic was timely for the students waiting to deliver their own presentations. Mr. Liollo spoke on the impact of non-verbal communication. He used many pictures and a movie clip to illustrate his points, and ended the presentation with a video of the dramatic pre-game ritual performed by the All Blacks Rugby Team from New Zealand. He encouraged the students to be aware of what was being communicated by the position of their arms and legs, their facial expressions, and their eye contact during conversations.
