LRGV‐AIA Scholarship The Lower Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (LRGV‐AIA) currently consists of 92 members. A committee comprised of our local associate and architect members and local Architecture School faculty, calls for applications from area to students that are attending an accredited National Architecture Accreditation Board (NAAB) University program. Students are selected based on the response to the following requests: Essay Question: How has your impression of architecture changed since beginning architecture school? Submittals: Along with your essay, include a digital copy (portfolio) of your work with a brief description including problem, the process and your solution, if applicable. A DropBox folder will be established for you to submit your files. Accredited Universities awarded scholarships since 1994: University of Southern California University of Detroit Mercy Texas A&M University University of Texas Austin University of Texas Arlington University of Texas San Antonio University of Houston Rice University University of New Mexico Princeton University The Cooper Union Rennselear Institute Cornell University Texas Tech University University of Texas Brownsville University of Pennsylvania The LRGV‐AIA has awarded $90,200 in scholarships since 1994, with the largest award of $11,000 to 9 students this year. 2014 Scholarships: Dan Garcia ‐ $2,000 – TX A&M University Luis Jasso – $2,500 ‐ Univ. of Pennsylvania Sergio Elizondo ‐ $1,5000 – Texas Tech Valeria Landeros ‐ $1,500 ‐ UT Austin Barbara Blanco ‐ $1,000 – University of Houston Juan Ramón Cantú ‐ $1,000 – Texas Southmost College Elsa de Leon ‐ $500 – UT San Antonio Francisco Banda ‐ $500 – Texas Tech Kimberly Ochoa ‐ $500 – UT San Antonio Our largest source of income has been our chapter’s annual golf tournament, making this our only local resource to raise scholarship funds. We have found that this method of fund raising in extremely challenging, as we compete with many other tournaments in the area. Yet, we were able to raise enough money to grant more than in previous years. This year, we also made $1,200 from a silent auction. AIA’s matching grants have been reduced to $1,000, but the recession seems to finally be over, and we have seen an increase in the number of applications since 2011. We wished for upward movement in the economy in order to raise enough funds to award a scholarship to every student that applies for it, and this year we finally made it! AIA’s matching grant is greatly appreciated by the members of the LRGV‐AIA that work tirelessly to raise scholarship funds. 5 year history of scholarship distribution: 2011 ‐ $4,500 2012 ‐ $3,500 2013 ‐ $4,700 2014 ‐ $11,000 2010 ‐ $3,500