AIA Austin WiA // Scholarship Recipient 2025 // Namratha Thrikutam

Design Austin and the AIA Austin Women in Architecture committee are excited to announce their 4th annual scholarship awarded to a minority female identifying student attending the University of Texas School of Architecture. The Donna D Carter scholarship was a direct result of the Call to Action subcommittee, formed by WiA Austin in 2021, whose goal is to identify and remove barriers for minority women in architecture. After an intense review process of all the applications, Design Austin and WiA Austin awarded scholarships to three incredible students, Ji Yoon Ahn, Deyanira Rodrigues and Namratha Thrikutam.

Please enjoy this video of Namratha Thrikutam describing what it means for them to be one of this year’s scholarship recipients. In addition to the scholarship, WiA has paired each student with a mentor from the Austin architecture community. We would also like to take a moment to recognize our three mentors, Camille Jobe, Maija Kreishman and Michelle Rossomando. Thank you to all of the scholarship donors including Alterstudio, Artisan Hardwood Floors, ATX Architects, Alexandra Chaves, Amy Coulston, Ashton & Kevin Brooks, BGK Architects, Carina Coel, Dan Skaggs, Den Property Group, Dev Devender, Donna Carter Advised Fund, Faye + Walker, Gustavo Bernal, Heather McKinney, Heather Rule, Hiromi Raymond, James Boggan, Jeanne Schultz Design Group, Jen Murriel, Johanna Moya, Jobe Corral Architects, Julien Brown, Koch McIntire Construction, LA-N-D,  Lake Flato, Maite Niño, Makayla Ponce, Martinez Moore Engineers, McKinney York Architects, Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, Miro Rivera Architects, MMD Architecture, Nicole Blair, Sara Alicia & Nicolas Costa, Padavic Design, Page, Pluck Architecture, Randy Davis, R Builders, Restructure Studio, Rogers O’Brien Construction, Ruben Martinez, Sheng Family Foundation, Storybuilt,Thoughtbarn, Wendy Dunnam Tita, Wheelhouse Design & Zulesky Apraricio. Thank you also to Nichole Wiedemann for being a great resource at UTSOA and for assisting us with setting up this scholarship.

Committee Chair & Sub-committee Chair – Alexandra Chaves, Assoc. AIA, NOMA

Committee Chair-Elect – Danielle Smith, AIA

Video Production and Editing: Gus Bernal – https://www.gusbernal.com/

Location: UT School of Architecture