Virginia Tech student discovers a parallel between diversity and architecture

Europe, Asia, and South America are typical travel destinations for those looking to study “abroad.” However for some, travel experiences happen closer to home.

Kyle Springer of Chesapeake, Va., a senior in Virginia Tech’s architecture program and a Presidential Campus Enrichment Grant (PCEG) recipient, recently traveled to Pass Christian, Miss. and captured the travel experience in a blog.

For Springer, this travel experience created a parallel between diversity and his architecture studies. Springer said many of the individuals he met during his visit to Pass Christian impacted and inspired him and made him incredibly thankful for his friends and family. Springer's experience caused him to "realize the real world implications as designers and how decisions impact another’s life."

The Presidential Campus Enrichment Grant was established in the spring of 2001 as a cross-college effort at enhancing diversity at Virginia Tech.

click here to read Springer's blog

Presidential Scholarship Initiative

Virginia Tech plans to offer up to 50 scholarships to incoming undergraduates each year through the Presidential Scholarship Initiative. Private donations are expected to fund much of the program, which already is helping 97 students, including Chantal Ghoussoub (pictured). Paula Robichaud ’77, of Palo Alto, Calif., who made one of the five largest scholarship-fund gifts to the university in fiscal 2010, is a significant supporter of the initiative. Additional fundraising is ongoing.