The Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section (IESNYC) has announced that Sarah Dlinn, a student enrolled in the MFA Lighting Design program at Parsons The New School is the recipient of the first annual IESNYC Scholarship. This merit based scholarship has a $ 25,000 purse attached to it and is meant to support a full-time, graduate degree candidate in architectural lighting enrolled in an accredited college or university located in New York state. The IESNYC press release noted that “the scholarship is unprecedented in the history of the IES and represents the first time a Section in the Society has supported higher education to such an extent.”
Caleb McKenzie, vice president of the IESNYC, chair of the IESNYC Scholarship Committee, and principal of US Lighting Consultants said, “Sarah Dlinn exemplifies the vision of the IESNYC Scholarship and of our Section. The 2016 IESNYC Scholarship Judging Panel considered all of the excellent candidates for our first Section scholarship and we determined that Sarah met and exceeded our criteria. We were especially impressed by her educational goals, leadership qualities, and support for our lighting community.”
Dlinn studied interior design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh where she received a Bachelor of Science degree. Her Master’s thesis at Parsons will focus on light and well-being. At present she is an intern at New York-based lighting firm Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design. Dlinn also serves on the board of the IESNYC Student Chapter at Parsons, which serves as a liaison between students and the Section.
The IESNYC Scholarship is the work of Caleb McKenzie, who initiated the program three years ago. The Section wanted to assist a deserving student with their tuition costs. The Section’s Board of Managers approved the scholarship in 2016 noting that “…it is a valuable investment in the future of the New York lighting community and a model program that other IES sections could follow.” The IESNYC Section sponsors several education initiatives including an annual student lighting competition, an annual thesis prize, and supports the Richard Kelly Grant.
