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A scholarship program that empowers diverse and talented architecture students in Chicago has awarded its 2024 scholarships to a pair of students from Illinois Institute of Technology’s College of Architecture.

The American Institute of Architecture Chicago Foundation’s Diversity Scholarship awarded its 2024 scholarships to Alisha Gonzalez (B.Arch. 4th Year) and Ivan Gonzalez-Vazquez (M.Arch. 1st Year). They each receive $10,000 that goes toward their studies, along with a mentor from the AIA Chicago membership who will provide guidance throughout the rest of their architecture studies.

The Diversity Scholarship has been awarded to a pair of Chicago-area students—one undergraduate and one graduate student—every year since 2019. Of the 12 students who have received the scholarship, eight have been College of Architecture students.

“The goal of the Diversity Scholarship was to give expression to the belief in recognizing the value of attracting new and unique voices into the profession,” says Christopher Chwedyk, president of the AIA Chicago Foundation Board of Trustees.

A scholarship jury of AIA Chicago members, led by Perkins Eastman Principal Gina (JinHwa) Paradowicz, selected this year’s recipients. The scholarship is part of AIA Chicago’s effort to attract and retain diverse, talented young professionals in Chicago.

“Innovation frequently happens when various viewpoints converge. Encouraging acceptance of individuals with different backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives is essential for a thriving future,” Gonzalez says. “I believe architects have an exceptional opportunity to influence the world by valuing diversity and making sure that the spaces we design are beneficial, inclusive, and representative of all people in some form.”

Before committing to architecture, Gonzalez considered working as a social worker or welder. As a first-generation Mexican-Puerto Rican who was born in Chicago and raised in Georgia, she’s the first college student in her family, and she wanted to ensure her future was right.

By exploring the field more, she found that architecture provided what she was looking for.

“In the end, I participated in a SkillsUSA architecture competition and enrolled in the [Architecture Construction, and Engineering] Mentor Program to dedicate more time to expanding my design knowledge. Practicing architecture allowed me to combine my love of hands-on work with my ability to aid and work with others in subtle ways,” Gonzalez says.

Gonzalez-Vazquez was born in Guanajuato, Mexico, and grew up in Las Vegas.

He attended two lectures featuring Rowe Family College of Architecture Dean Endowed Chair Reed Kroloff while an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Kroloff highlighted the modeling culture and the teaching methodologies featured at the College of Architecture during his lectures, and Gonzalez-Vazquez took note.

“He encouraged us to pursue what we want to do, regardless of pedagogy,” Gonzalez-Vazquez says. “He left me with another term in mind—‘architectural rigor’—and I began looking for the best place to refine it.”

Before starting his first year as a graduate student, Gonzalez-Vazquez learned about the AIA Chicago Diversity Scholarship, which has set him—and others—up for success. “The Diversity Scholarship is a great way to address barriers facing students,” Gonzalez-Vazquez says. “One of my initial thoughts on the scholarship was that it was a breath of fresh air. Receiving it felt like opening a giant window of a stuffy room. I felt more reassured about my decision to come to IIT and my ability to succeed.”