Eight students from the Project Lead the Way Program at Homewood-Flossmoor High School have been awarded summer internships and scholarships for their outstanding work this past school year.
Teacher Nate Beebe, who directs PLTW, said the students were selected for their work and efforts in the ACE Mentor Program of America. H-F students focus on architecture, construction and engineering by participating in the after school program at firms in Chicago’s Loop.
“The ACE program is designed to help mentor high school students and inspire them to pursue careers in design and construction,” Beebe said. “H-F has been involved in the program the past 10 years with incredible success and this year eight H-F students were awarded scholarships and internships.”
PLTW is a national program meant to increase interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). It focuses on engineering and architecture and is a four-prong program that has replaced drafting, mechanical drawing and architecture classes of years past. Students today do their work on computers.
Honorees will undertake their Chicago-based internships over the summer. Scholarship recipients received between $1,500 and $3,000.
Selected seniors are:
- Kyle O’Shea, internship at Wight & Co.
- Nathaniel Hardy, scholarship recipient.
- Kellyn Gerenstein, scholarship recipient.
- Kweku Osei, scholarship.
- Claudia Pallmacher, Design Build internship and scholarship recipient.
- Meghan Dwyer, internship at WSP, an international consultancy firm.
Also, junior Udo Anidobu was invited to participate in a six-week Cornell University Introduction to Architecture Program hosted by the College of Architecture, Art and Planning.
She will join other high school and college students at morning lectures and integrated workshops exploring architectural principles, including composition, history, preservation, landscape architecture, planning and urban design. Afternoon sessions will focus on studio work.
