GPS senior Kali Holt has received a $2,500 Volkswagen scholarship for college at the ACE program’s annual banquet in early February. A national mentorship program, ACE stands for Architecture, Construction, and Engineering. The local program serves high school students from North Georgia and Chattanooga who are interested in those three areas of study, possibly as professions. The program’s purpose is to provide “a practical hands-on view of how abstract concepts get transformed into the buildings that make up our everyday reality.”
Kali has participated in the ACE program for the past two years - last year on the UTC team and this year on the River Street Architecture team. The team's project this year was based on the history and context of the Martin Luther King Boulevard neighborhood, the 2009 MLK Community Plan, and the Chattanooga City Center Plan. The location that her team planned was for the corner of MLK and Douglas behind UTC dorms. Their final project featured an exterior design and commercial/restaurant design congruent with the neighborhood, two stories of modern residential living (complete with kitchen, bath, and washer/dryer amenities), and a rooftop garden overlooking Chattanooga.
“The 2015-2016 ACE year project is particularly relevant to the growing millennial downtown community,” says Kali, “with the proximity of the location to the Camp House and the refurbishment of apartments on Georgia Avenue, as well as for UTC students.”
Through the efforts of several team members from around the area, including two GPS sophomores, Mycah Boykin and Mia Bertani, the River Street Team won the overall team competition and received “most professional team” accolades by the panel of experienced judges at the event.
“ACE has taught me the value of collaboration, trial, failure, and success,” said Kali, citing the networking, compromise, and close team relationships that she’s experienced. This year's project, which began in August went far beyond just a project and a presentation for Kali. “To me, the project suggests a solution to a social and concrete issue the city has been faced with for more than 30 years by trying to revitalize the MLK neighborhood,” Kali explained. “I was so fortunate to be a part of this social statement this year, and I hope that other GPS students will be inspired to participate in ACE again next year.”
Kali Holt's project design