To celebrate and promote the profession of architecture, provide opportunities for professional growth, and improve the built environment.

2007 AIA/NEI Student Scholarships

AIA Northeast Illinois Awards Three Scholarships
Three future architects have received a helping hand from today’s professionals in the field.
AIA Northeast Illinois (NEI) in conjunction with The American Institute of Architects has awarded three scholarships to students pursuing architectural degrees. The chapter contributed $1,000 to each student award, and through a matching grant, the national organization contributed the same amount. This year’s recipients are: Brian Brodeur, Whitley Neier, and Sara Reich.

The scholarships are funded through the chapter’s annual golf outing and are bestowed yearly. To be eligible, students must live within the NEI chapter area and be enrolled in an accredited architecture program in the Midwest.

“We’re investing in the future,” said Chuck Ditchman, AIA, chairman of the chapter’s Scholarship Committee. “Awarding scholarships is an important part of our mission and we’re pleased to be able to help these talented students become the architects of tomorrow.”

brodeurBrian Brodeur
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Brian Brodeur of Palatine will receive his bachelor's degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in December. He intends to pursue a dual graduate degree, combining a master's degree in architecture with a master's in either business administration or construction management. Brodeur believes architects have a responsibility not only to their clients and the public but also to future generations, and thus is interested in green and sustainable design. Brodeur, a member of the Gargoyle Architectural Honor Society, already has spent time in the field, working summer jobs with architecture firms and a construction job during the past school year. Outside the classroom, he also has been a member of the university’s men’s track team. He gained a worldwide perspective of the profession through attending summer classes in May and June at Tongi University in Shanghai. “I have learned firsthand how really we are a global society and choices made in one part of the world can be felt thousands of miles away,” he said. He hopes eventually to open his own firm, specializing in commercial and recreation design.

 


Neier Whitley Neier
Judson College

Whitley Neier of Wheaton will begin her architectural studies this fall at Judson College in Elgin. She is considering several concentrations, including interior design, urban planning, development of low-income housing, and hotel and restaurant design. “The population of this country is only increasing, and our available space is continuously decreasing,” she pointed out. Architects, through urban planning, can help with this problem, or at least plan for it, she said, adding, “low-income housing is always an issue with space and design.” Neier is a 2007 graduate of Wheaton Warrenville South High School, where she was active in extracurricular activities, including Key Club, Spanish Honors Society and several sports, and also was active in her church youth group.

 

 

 

ReichSara Reich
Ball State University

Sara Reich of Arlington Heights is a 2007 graduate of John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights and will attend Ball State University in Indiana in the fall. To complement her interest in the overall design challenges that architecture represents, she plans to minor in interior design. “I want to be able to design an entire space, from the outside to the inside.” Reich already has some design “experience,” participating in a School District 214 competition to design a house to be built the following year by the Practical Application Construction class. In both years she participated, her design was one of three selected to represent Hersey High School, and both years her design came in third at final district presentations. Reich, an honors student, has participated in a wide range of extracurricular activities, including music, honor societies, Speech & Drama Team, theater and color guard (co-captain her senior year). She has undertaken several volunteer projects, including participating for several years in her church’s Appalachia Service Project. She hopes eventually to be a partner in an architectural firm.

The information contained on this website is general in nature and should not be considered a substitute for professional advice in specific situations. Advertising of products and services appearing on this website does not constitute endorsement by AIA/NEI.