Schillivia Baptiste, Chief Executive Officer at Laland Baptiste, has been part of the ACE Mentor Program of Greater New York for three years. The program pairs high school students in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County with professionals from various architecture, engineering, and construction industries.

The ACE Mentor Program is very dear to Schillivia. She is an alumna of the Program and acknowledges its influence on the early stages of her career path into Civil Engineering.

Schillivia has always had a passion for working with students, whether it’s hands-on mentoring, or participating in student panels to support their aspirations. Baptiste enjoys working with high school students because they are just starting to think about college and career options. She likes to “let them know and understand that this is a field for everyone.” As a Minority and Woman-Owned (MWBE) Business owner, she wants to share her knowledge and encourage others to pursue the opportunities that are available in these fields.

Each year, Schillivia works on an ACE mentoring team to offer a wide variety of experiences to mentees. Students learn what it’s like to work in the design and construction industry by participating in hands-on projects, construction site visits, and industry software such as AutoCADRevit, and SketchUp.

For more information about the ACE program, please visit their website.