Students' designs on the future helped by scholarships

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17: Brandon Scott and Tika Gilbert have been awarded scholarships from the Institute of Bermuda Architects (IBA).

Ms Gilbert won the Paul Lepercq Architectural Scholarship, which was established in 2000 in honour and memory of the late Paul Lepercq.

The Scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic merit to a Bermudian student who has either successfully completed a minimum of one year of study in an accredited B Arch or similar degree programme in architecture, or is enrolled in an accredited masters of architecture degree programme.

Money

The scholarship is worth $15,000.

Ms Gilbert has worked in architectural firms for the past 15 years and decided to go back to school.

She is currently enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Architecture programme at Kingston University

“I’m a single parent and it’s been a dream of mine” she told us. “I have been working towards this for some time.

“It’s exciting. I wasn’t expecting it but after I sent in my application, they asked to see my portfolio and I think they were pleased with it.

Travel

“The scholarship is helping me out a lot because studying architecture, materials are expensive and you have to do a lot of travelling.”

As part of her training, she will be travelling throughout Europe.

Mr Scott won the S. G. Kennedy Architectural Award, which is given on an annual basis in memory of Stanley G. Kennedy, an architect who devoted much of his life to advancing educational and professional standards in the architectural profession both in Bermuda and in Jamaica.

The award is made to one or more Bermudian students who are enrolled in a programme leading to an accredited degree in architecture with preference being given to candidates who have completed at least their first year of study in an accredited programme and who demonstrate academic merit and greatest financial need. 

Mr Scott will begin his Master in Architecture at Birmingham City University in the fall.  The award is worth $8,000.

Mr Scott said: “I was so surprised. It’s a great honour because I wasn’t expecting it. It really helped me out. I was speechless when I got the news.”

Mr Scott said he had applied for the scholarship four years in a row.

“So you can imagine my excitement when I finally got it”, he added.