MAF’s 2025 Scholarship Winners exhibited impressive academic achievement, outstanding leadership skills, strong commitment to architecture, and exemplary community involvement. These were the jury’s reasons regarding their selections for this year’s scholarships.
MAF recently awarded scholarships totaling $41,000 to eleven Michigan college and university architecture students. A total of 46 scholarship applications were received this year. The 2025 scholarship recipients were recognized at a ceremony held at the offices of Albert Kahn Associates located in Detroit’s Fisher Building.
MAF awards scholarships annually to architecture students completing a Bachelor’s Degree program and who have been accepted or are currently enrolled in an academic program leading to a Master of Architecture degree. AIA Grand Rapids provides scholarships for both graduate and undergraduate architecture students. The newest scholarship is the Hamann2 Fund undergraduate scholarship created by the generous donations of Norm Hamann Jr., his family, and architecture firm Diekema Hamann to honor Norm and his late father, Norm Hamann Sr.
MAF’s 2025 scholarship recipients (and their scholarships) are:
As in past years, each student applicant is required to submit a completed application form, a full college transcript, a personal statement describing leadership, design, and community accomplishments and activities, a copy of the student’s design portfolio submitted to their graduate admissions program, two letters of reference, and a school cost and personal financial budget. The jury must take all information into consideration but has discretion as to the weight of the categories of information for each award.
This year, there were two juries:
The jury for the Graduate Scholarships consisted of three members of the MAF Board: Tim Casai, FAIAE, Todd Drouillard, AIA and Jeff Hausman, FAIA. Other jury members included Tom Reder, AIA; Philip Davis, AIA; Joel Smith, AIA; Ross Kaplan, Paul Stachowiak, AIA; Brandon Sundberg, AIA; Katherine Banicki, FESD; Wes Kohn, AIA; Michael Cooper, PE; Jennifer Brent, and Anne Doornbos, AIA.
The jury for the Undergraduate Scholarships consisted of three members of the MAF Board: Tim Casai, FAIAE, Norm Hamann Jr., AIA, and Jeff Hausman, FAIA. The jury also included Anne Doornbos, AIA.
Beginning in 2001, MAF’s scholarship program has helped to support hundreds of blossoming architecture students. The students that apply for these scholarships demonstrate a passion for the profession, as well as a commitment to design, leadership, and community involvement. These awards recognize students for their hard work and also provide support for the escalating cost of architectural education.
MAF scholarship awards continue to evolve due to the generosity of MAF donors, and through the considerable time and efforts MAF board members dedicate to numerous fundraising activities to support the program, including MAF’s annual ‘Fore a Great Cause’ Golf Outing.
For more information on MAF’s Scholarship program, click here. Want to help support the academic goals of Michigan’s architecture students? Click here to donate to MAF’s scholarship program.