KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Prospective architects got a chance to learn hands-on skills on Saturday, April 4 at the Arcus Center.
Hosted by the National Organization of Minority Architects and Girls Build Kalamazoo, students, including women and students of color, who are usually excluded from the industry, had the opportunity to present their own ideas for the renovation of a home Girls Build Kalamazoo purchased and plans to renovate.
Teams of two presented the ideas they worked on throughout the afternoon to a panel of judges that included Kalamazoo’s Deputy City Manager Rebekah Kik.
Twala Lockett-Jones, founder and executive director of Girls Build Kalamazoo, told News Channel 3 it’s important to expose women and girls to all the possible skills at a young age as they make decisions about their futures.
“Empowering them, teaching them, exposing them to any and everything that we can expose them to,” Lockett-Jones said. “It helps them in their future as they’re making decisions on their careers and their lives.”
Nadine Rios-Rivas, Co-Director of the NOMA Kalamazoo Team, said having experts in the field on hand to offer advice and feedback to the prospective architects goes a long way as they look to make their way in the architectural field.
“We hope that that can plant a seed to inspire a student that might be interested to have the courage to say, ‘Hey, maybe this is for me,'” Rios-Rivas said.
The Arcus Center will be home to another NOMA event, as a free of charge, multi-day summer camp will be held from July 23-25.