This year's recipients of the AIA/AAF Minority Disadvantaged Scholarship include Dominique Devlin, who will attend Rice University; Calvin Gallion, who will attend Tulane University; Rami Niga, who will attend University of Detroit Mercy; and Rosibel Tavares, who will attend the Pratt Institute.
Funds of up to $4,000 will be provided to each student, and can be renewed annually for up to five years. The funds are provided through a joint effort between the American Institute of Architects and the American Architectural Foundation. The funds are intended to help minorities or those with financial disadvantages to pursue NAAB-accredited professional degrees in architecture—and most importantly, to encourage diversity in the architecture profession.
This year's scholarship committee sorted through 150 applications before choosing Devlin, Gallion, Niga, and Tavares. Among their collective accomplishments, Devlin participated in ACE Mentors, a high school architecture mentorship program, while Tavares graduated as salutatorian from her high school in New York. Gallion is interested in pursuing a career on weather-resistant and weatherproof buildings, and Niga, a native of Baghdad, is interested in pursuing sustainable architecture.
In other diversity efforts, the AIA's Office of Diversity and Inclusion also recognizes firms and component chapters that pursue diversity through its annual AIA Diversity Recognition Program.
