This week, the Architects Foundation announced 20 new Diversity Advancement Scholarship recipients, quadrupling its efforts from last year. The scholarship program (originally called the Ford Foundation Scholarship) awards high school and undergraduate minority students who are entering, enrolled in, or transferring into a National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB)–accredited undergraduate architecture program $4,000 for the academic year, and $4,000 more per subsequent year of their undergraduate studies for up to five years.
“The Diversity Advancement Scholarship was established by the AIA and the Ford Foundation following a 1968 speech by Whitney M. Young Jr. calling upon architects to do more for the community. Young’s charge included scholarships for minority students, and in 1970, 20 awards were made,” Architects Foundation executive director Marci Reed said in a press release. “Fifty years after Young’s challenge, we are pleased to be back at this impressive level of effort to create a diverse next generation of architects and community builders.”
As part of the program, two of the scholars will be funded by Benjamin Moore & Co. Foundation, and will receive an additional $1,000 per year. One scholar who expressed interest in residential architecture will be funded by the AIA Custom Residential Architects Network.
The recipients are: Esmeralda Aceituno of Los Angeles; Daniel Allen of Chicago; Elizabeth Amigon of Sunnyside, N.Y.; Annabelle Asali of Los Angeles; Shanelle Brown of Fairhope, Ala.; Nina Crosby Walton of Frederick, Md.; Andrea De Haro of Doral, Fla.; Genesis Gadberry of San Angelo, Texas; Isabella Greco of Chicago; Joya Ma of Phoenix; Lauren McLean of Mount Vernon, N.Y.; Hana Morrison of Honolulu (scholar funded by AIA Custom Residential Architects Network); Amy Rojas of San Antonio; Sarah Saad of East Elmhurt, N.Y.; Maly Sears of Adrian, Mo. (scholar funded by Benjamin Moore & Co. Foundation); Caroline Senyszyn of Fort Worth, Texas (scholar funded by Benjamin Moore & Co. Foundation); Luiza Vara of Phoenix; Ania Yee-Boguinskaia of Houston; Nahom Zeleke of Columbia, Ala.; and Carolina Zuniga of Doral, Fla.
In the years since the inaugural Diversity Advancement Scholarships awarded in 1970, more than 2,300 architecture students have been recognized. Eligible applicants must be a member of a minority race or ethnicity, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, be a U.S. citizen, and be a rising first- or second-year student at an NAAB-accredited program.
