{"id":96386,"date":"2024-07-17T15:51:59","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T15:51:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=96386"},"modified":"2024-07-17T15:52:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T15:52:00","slug":"uri-senior-hopes-to-help-fill-void-of-landscape-architects-in-alaska","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2024\/07\/uri-senior-hopes-to-help-fill-void-of-landscape-architects-in-alaska\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 senior hopes to help fill void of landscape architects in Alaska"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 July 17, 2024 \u2013 Living in a rural area in Alaska, 40 minutes from Fairbanks, Aisha Malik often took a 4×4 to school\u2014and quite a few times, a dog sled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother, a data analyst with the Fairbanks Native Association, and her father, a project manager at the local military base, instilled in her, at an early age, a love for the outdoors. Her mother taught her to fish, gather and forage. Family trips were often to fish for salmon or camp out. There was hiking, gardening and rock climbing to pass the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing up in Alaska was magic. However, I only realized that once I left to see other parts of the country,\u201d says Malik, a senior majoring in landscape architecture at the 溏心vlog免费B站. \u201cI always thought that was normal. But once I left, I realized that not everyone lives like that, funny enough!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her passion for the outdoors\u2014and a love of nature and art\u2014gave her something else: an interest in landscape architecture. And with that, a desire to return to Alaska after college to help fill the need for licensed landscape architects in a state known for its pristine landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI initially wanted to study architecture,\u201d says Malik, who has honed her art skills since seventh grade and recently added an interest in painting, mostly landscapes. \u201cBut when I learned about landscape architecture, something just clicked. I felt like I found the most perfect career for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malik started her college journey at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. But after her first year, having found landscape architecture, she decided to transfer out of state. No universities in Alaska have a landscape architecture program\u2014leaving her to hunt the lower 48 for one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With her interest in art, Malik, as a child, dreamed of studying at Rhode Island School of Design. So she knew about Rhode Island, even more than 3,000 miles away. When she learned 溏心vlog免费B站 had a landscape architecture program, she made the trip\u2014no dog sled needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI knew that going to school 3,000 miles away was going to be a big change,\u201d says Malik, a first-generation American of Pakistani and Ukrainian descent. \u201cBut I can safely say it was the best decision of my life so far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 溏心vlog免费B站, she has become a big booster of the landscape architecture program. The faculty and staff have been very welcoming. The smaller class sizes have allowed her to connect with classmates, and build some of her closest friendships. She also is vice president of the American Society of Landscape Architects Rhode Island Student Chapter; she was the social media chair last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have really enjoyed the studio aspect of the program,\u201d says Malik, who also minors in community planning. \u201cEach student gets their own drafting table, which can be decorated however students like. It\u2019s a great perk of being a landscape architecture student.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another draw was 溏心vlog免费B站 and Alaska Fairbanks are part of a national student exchange program \u2013 so Malik pays a lower tuition. For someone paying her own way through college, that was big. She started saving to pay out-of-state tuition her first year at Alaska Fairbanks, worked 50-hour weeks (fittingly) at outdoor gear retailer REI during the summers, and applied for as many scholarships as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This spring, that strategy paid off in three awards from the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows Scholarship\u2014a total of $15,000 in grants and a registration and travel stipend to the ASLA conference in Washington, D.C., this October. \u201cI\u2019m extremely grateful for the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and all the support they have been providing,\u201d she says. \u201cGaining this financial help has significantly changed the trajectory of my academic career for the best. I will no longer have to take out loans to pay for school, which is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The past two summers, Malik has interned at two Fairbanks landscape architecture firms\u2014Design Alaska and Bettisworth North Architects and Planners\u2014to prepare her for her goal of working in her home state after college. Landscape architecture is a small field in Alaska, with only 55 licensed landscape architects in a state of 663,000 square miles, she says. In Fairbanks, she says, the landscape is covered with snow, temperatures below zero, and darkness almost half the year. The growing season is only three months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow does a landscape architect deal with something like this?\u201d she asks. \u201cThat is when creativity and ingenuity come into play. Using engaging lighting, hardscapes, and plants with winter interest are some ways to invite some flair to the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am really interested in how landscape architecture can impact a state that is known for its untouched landscape,\u201d she adds. \u201cAlaska is growing, and with climate change, the cities here need to consider environmentally conscious design. I would like to be a part of that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 July 17, 2024 \u2013 Living in a rural area in Alaska, 40 minutes from Fairbanks, Aisha Malik often took a 4×4 to school\u2014and quite a few times, a dog sled. Her mother, a data analyst with the Fairbanks Native Association, and her father, a project manager at the local military base, instilled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":96390,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96386"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96393,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96386\/revisions\/96393"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}