The ACE Mentor Program's mission is to enlighten and increase the awareness of high school students to career opportunities in architecture, construction and engineering and related areas of the design and construction industry through mentoring; and to provide scholarship opportunities for students in an inclusive manner reflective of the diverse school population. We started in 2002 with 40 students and 25 mentors. Today, we are a growing organization with over three times those original numbers of students and mentors. Students come from high schools all over the Bay Area – San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, the lower Peninsula, Contra Costa County. Our program is open to students in grades 9-12, who are interested in exploring careers in architecture, construction, engineering and the building trades. Guided by their mentors, students work in teams on projects that involve virtually every phase of the construction process. This gives participants a practical way to discover how industry professionals take a building from initial concept to final structure. It also gives them a "true-to-life" picture of the building industry's many rewarding career opportunities.