ACE Team 2

Student Orientation – November 2, 2017

Welcome Team 2! It was great to meet everyone at Jones College Prep for the student orientation last Thursday. It’s looking like it’s going to be a great year!

The group started off in the auditorium where they got to hear from ACE program leaders, along with testimonials from former ACE students, including Team 2’s very own Marvin Ambrocio! Afterwards, Team 2 was able to meet for the first time as a group in one of the classrooms. The mentors introduced themselves, and then the group dove into two ice-breaking activities. First, the group played rounds of rocks-paper-scissors, with the winner of each round moving on and the loser becoming the winner’s new hype man. Eventually, there were two students left with two big groups cheering them on. Congrats to the winner Daniel! The activity was a great way to amp-up everyone’s competitive spirits and learn some names along the way.

Next, the group moved on to a “blind poker” activity. Students and mentors taped pictures to their heads so that everyone else could see them. The pictures were industry related– from materials like concrete to structures like the Roman aqueducts. Participants then recruited the help of their peers by asking yes/no questions in order to guess what was shown on their heads. This was a great intro to all materials, systems, and structures available to use in designs for this year, along with a great foundation for the teamwork that will be necessary to complete the project.

Team 2 is off to a great start. Next meeting is Tuesday, November 7 at HDR’s office. Mentors will be giving brief company presentations and then moving into a spaghetti structure activity.