Six extraordinary graduate-level architecture students have been awarded scholarship-internship opportunities in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., area through the generous support of partner firms Design Collective, David M. Schwarz Architects, Gensler, Ayers Saint Gross, Torti Gallas and WDG. The annual awards recognize academic achievement and a continued dedication to the built environment through practice and study.
While the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic have shelved many in-person opportunities, each of the partner firms have worked to create meaningful experiences for students, from exposing them to a wide range of national projects to expanding the scope of daily office life.
“The internship-scholarship is a unique partnership between the Architecture Program and the profession,” said Brian Kelly, associate dean and director of UMD’s Architecture Program. “It represents a solid commitment to these future architects. By supporting them at a critical stage during their educational development with both a paid internship and a scholarship, these firms support the students' continued education.”
Meet MAPP’s 2021 Architecture Intern-Scholars:
Benjamin Ripley will be spending his summer interning at Design Collective (DCI) in Baltimore, Md., after receiving the Design Collective Scholarship/Internship Award. In addition to the internship, Daniel will receive a scholarship from DCI towards his final academic year. Design Collective is a multi-disciplinary firm specializing in architecture, planning, urban design, landscape architecture, interior design and sustainability.
After a rewarding experience working with Grimm and Parker on K-12 design, Eric Resnick will join WDG this summer as an architectural entry designer. During his summer experience, Eric will experience working on design projects at every stage of development, from concept to digital documentation.
“As a Path B student in the dual architecture/historic preservation program I am approaching a career in architecture by building off of a previous career,” says Eric. “The internship opportunity is a great way to learn and apply my previous professional experience with the skillsets I'm currently learning as an architecture and historic preservation graduate student.”
The firm has also awarded scholarship support for Eric’s final academic year. WDG is an internationally-recognized architecture, master planning and interior design firm specializing in award-winning commercial architecture, including higher education, office, residential and mixed-use projects.
Gesine Pryor Azevedo has been selected for the 2021 David M. Schwarz Internship and Traveling Fellowship award, which includes a 10-week paid internship with David M. Schwarz Architects (DMSAS), and a travel stipend to conduct research abroad during the summer of 2021. While the internship plans are still taking shape due to COVID, Gesine will be traveling to Miami and the Cape Verde islands for six weeks to research her thesis topic: neighborhood-scale water infrastructure. DMSAS is a Washington, D.C.-based design firm with an expansive portfolio of residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, athletic and master planning projects located throughout the country.
The Gensler Alumni Scholarship Fund provides a summer internship to a MAPP graduate student and scholarship toward the student’s final academic year. This year’s recipient is Ryan Muir, who will be conducting research for projects across the U.S. Gensler is a global architecture, design and planning firm that provides services in architecture, interior design, brand design, product design, planning and urban design and consulting to over 2,400 clients through 46 locations worldwide.
Established in 2000 by UMD alumni who are practice leaders at Ayers Saint Gross (ASG), this year’s recipient of the ASG Alumni Scholarship is Bhavishya Venkitaraman. ASG is leveraging virtual work platforms for Bhavi, who is pursuing a dual degree in architecture and urban planning, to work where she could best apply her skills, including their offices in Tempe, Arizona, giving her the opportunity of project-based work rather than office-based work. Ayers Saint Gross is an internationally-recognized design firm specializing in architecture, planning, landscape architecture, graphic design, interiors and space analytics.
Julia Campbell received the 2021 Jack Smith Kerxton Memorial Scholarship, the oldest scholarship at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. The scholarship will provide Julia with financial aid as well as a 2021 summer internship with Torti Gallas and Partners, a renowned architecture firm located in Silver Spring, Md. With a hand in designing many communities throughout the U.S., Torti Gallas’ projects include traditional neighborhoods and inner-city redevelopment, revitalization projects, commercial ventures and transit-oriented projects.
“After having a great conversation with the representatives of Torti Gallas + Partners and the family members of Jack Kerxton, I am very excited to be joining them in their Silver Spring, MD office sometime this summer when things are safer,” says Julia. “I am really looking forward to aiding the team on concepts such as placemaking and equitable design.”
Learn more about scholarship and internship opportunities at MAPP.