Central PA Architects Foundation Fund Architecture Scholarship

The Central Pennsylvania Architecture Foundation Fund (CPAFF) recently announced the award of its first annual Architectural Scholarship to Elizabeth McIlnay, a fourth-year architecture student at Temple University. To be eligible, scholarship applicants were required to be present or former residents of one of thirteen counties in Central Pennsylvania and currently enrolled in an architecture degree program. Additionally, students submitted letters of interest and supporting materials demonstrating their design work, community involvement, and volunteer activities.

This year's inaugural honoree, Elizabeth McIlnay, is a 2008 graduate of York Suburban High School. At Temple University, she has been involved with Habitat for Humanity, American Institute of Architecture Students and Freedom by Design. As fundraising chair or Freedom by Design, a volunteer organization that fundraises and creates architectural interventions for persons with disabilities, Ms. McIlnay has guided efforts including design and construction of a wheelchair ramp for a young man with severe cerebral palsy.

Elizabeth plans to apply to the Central Pennsylvania Architecture Foundation Fund Architecture Scholarship to study abroad at Temple University's Rome campus. While traveling and improving her understanding of design across various cultures, she hopes to continue to fundraise and engage in a small-scale project in Rome-supporting her long-term goal of helping others through design. Speaking on behalf of CPAFF, Frank Dittenhafer II, FAIA, LEED AP, who chaired the Scholarship effort, stated that "the Selection Committee was very impressed with Ms. McIlnay's past involvement with the community-based design initiatives-and felt that the 2011 scholarship award could make a positive contribution to her international cultural design research."

The Central Pennsylvania Architects Foundation Fund is the foundation of AIA Central Pennsylvania, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The fund is led by former presidents of AIA Central Pennsylvania and was created in partnership with the Foundation for Enhancing Communities, a 501 (c) (3) located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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