The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) celebrates its fourth class of architecture students chosen as this year's 2022 NOMA Foundation Fellowship (NFF) cohort. An initiative that provides mentorship and design research experience for young emerging professionals, the NFF has become an impactful program offered to underrepresented architecture students across the nation.

This year 20 architecture students were selected to be a part of the 2022 summer cohort. During the two-month summer fellowship, each student is hosted at a leading architecture firm nationwide. During the summer, student fellows "engage in design research and benefit from firm mentorship." NOMA shares, "NFF provides professional experience to underrepresented students to connect them to the profession and provide a pipeline to eventual employment, supporting the 2030 Diversity Challenge, which aims to increase the number of licensed Black architects."  

Tiffany Brown, NOMA Executive Director shared, "We are pleased with the participation we’ve received from students and architecture firms since the program began in 2020 and look forward to doubling our fellowship participation in years to come. The students bring passion and energy to the field, and the professionals who mentor the fellows are making a major contribution to the direction of our industry.”

NOMA President Jason Pugh discussed the value and impact programs like NFF create for young designers. "The NOMA Foundation Fellowship is one of our most impactful programs to build and develop the next generation of Black and minority architects and designers, which highlights the importance of mentorship. To date, more than 80 students have been awarded fellowships since the program began in 2020, and many of those enter into full-time design and architect positions, demonstrating the value of making professional connections. As a practicing architect and urban planner myself, I support the opportunity to bring in new talent to learn from professionals while also making connections to break down industry barriers.”

The 2022 summer fellowship cohort included the following architecture students and graduates placed at design firms across the U.S.:  

• Uyiosa Aimufua of Morgan State University at Moody Nolan
• Tyron Alford of North Carolina State University, at Cunningham - San Diego
• Nese Gulay Altintas of Illinois Institute of Technology, at Quinn Evans - Washington, D.C.
• Jadesola Ayodeji of Pratt Institute, at LEO A DALY
• Shakori Carpenter of University of Tennessee - Knoxville, at LS3P
• James Chidiac of Southern California Institute of Architecture, at HDR - Los Angeles
• Lika Corson of Illinois Institute of Technology, HKS - Los Angeles
• Aaron Gamez of California Baptist University, at CannonDesign - Irvine, CA
• Pablo Guzman of California Baptist University, at Populous
• Samuel Harrison of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, at Perkins & Will - Boston
• Sydney King of Pratt Institute Brooklyn Campus, EYP
• Auriel Lewis of Thomas Jefferson University, at Hord Coplan Macht
• Jeyda Muhammad of University of Maryland, at BWBR
• Veronica Paulon of Cornell University, at Perkins & Will - Dallas
• Thaddaus Perkins of University of Louisiana at Lafayette, at Gould Evans  
• Lindsey Rasberry of Ohio State University, at Gresham Smith
• Hina Sardar of The City College of New York, at HLW- New York
• Amalia Sosa of California Baptist University, at HDR - Seattle
• Anishwar Tirupathur of Carnegie Mellon University, at HED - Detroit
• Anusha Varudandi of Lawrence Technological University, at SOM - New York

Monique Dorroh, a NOMA NFF alum and graduate student from Pennsylvania State University, shared with NOMA, "The NOMA Foundation Fellowship was an amazing opportunity. It connected me with a firm that is truly invested in my development within the field, and those connections that I made last summer allowed me to continue working with them throughout my final school year. I'm happy to say that I was offered a full-time position with the firm prior to graduation and celebrated my one-year anniversary a few weeks ago.” 

Students who participated in this year's eight-week NOMA Foundation Fellowship received "a salary of $7,040, a $1,000 travel assistance or relocation stipend, and $1,000 licensure stipend if fellows become a licensed architect within five years of completing the fellowship." According to NOMA, the application process to join this year's summer cohort was open to any National Organization of Minority Architecture Students NOMAS members in good standing. 

*The program and application process is managed by Melanie Ray, AIA, LEED Green Assoc., NOMA, NCARB, NOMA Northeast University Liaison and an Associate at Hord Coplan Macht. 

For more information, visit www.noma.net/nff.