Carina Chan

This is a photo of me and my cousins, who are the most important people in my life (I am second from the left). Whenever I am stressed, hopeless, and lost, they are the people I go to. Without them, I will not be the person I am today. We were celebrating one of our cousin’s graduation–I’m looking forward to the day I will also wear this cap and gown, showing the joy and accomplishment I have made.

Degree: BArch and BS in Sociology

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2022

2021-2022 Scholarships
Baird Family Scholarship
Donna V. Sundberg Scholarship in Architecture
Walter Gordon Memorial Student Scholarship in Architecture

I Am Originally From Macau, China

WHY I CAME TO THE UO AND HOW I CHOSE MY MAJOR
I chose UO because it was close to home, and the Architecture program at the UO is a 5-year accredited program, so I decided to come to UO for my architecture degree. I enjoy UO a lot, especially being in the College of Design. College of Design provides many opportunities for students to engage in like the annual HOPES conference, workshops, and the career fair.

I chose my major based on hoping to have a long-lasting career in the future. Architecture sounded very promising to me in my senior year of high school. Also in that year, I began to realize that I wanted to get involved in community engagement and wanted to bring hope to the next generation, and so designing buildings seemed like it would leave positive impacts on communities. At that time, I did not know the influence and the positive effect that Architecture would bring me.

UNIQUE QUALITIES I BRING TO MY STUDIES
I love being a mentor. I wanted to become a high school teacher when I was a teenager. But circumstances did not allow me to pursue my childhood dream. Architecture is a field that involves everybody in the community. I love looking at Architecture from the community perspective.

MY INFLUENTIAL PROFESSORS
Esther Hagenlocher, Associate Professor of Architecture; Professor Javier Bonnin, Instructor of Architecture; Professor Juli Brode, Senior Instructor of Architecture; and Gary Moye, Professor Emeritus of Architecture, have all left a legacy in my life. I cannot distinguish one influential professor as they have all  impacted my perspectives in viewing the practice of architecture differently. From all four of the professors listed, I have learned that architecture is an art in real life, yet this form of art leaves an influence on how communities interact, their behaviors, and beliefs.

MY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
I am involved in the UO Hong Kong Student Association, UO Epic Movement, and UO Cru. These three communities have been important throughout my student career over the past four years. These  organizations allowed me to interact with students outside of the architecture program. It is a different atmosphere than what architecture has to offer. Student organizations have students from all over the campus, with different majors, aspirations, and life goals. Without them, my world would only be focused on architecture without really knowing what the world is like outside of architecture.

MY GREATEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT UO
Being able to do many hands-on projects and not just learning from textbooks has offered the greatest learning experiences. What also really sticks with me most is the site visits that we got to do as a class. Site visits allowed us to go into the construction field, seeing how what we are learning in class is taking shape in the real world.

AFTER GRADUATION
My greatest hope is to leave an impact on the next generation. I hope to become an architecture mentor at the firm that I will be working at. College of Design gave me so much opportunity to mentor first-year students as an undergraduate student. It sparked many aspirations.

YOUR GIFT
This scholarship is important to me because it takes away a lot of my financial burden. School is expensive, but when courses are so interesting I sometimes cannot help myself but register for the course. However, with this scholarship, I am able to freely sign up for classes that spark joy in my life. The program offers many useful and worthwhile courses that will leave an impact in how I see architecture.

Thank you very much for your support through this scholarship. It might be a small part of your life but it means the world to me to have received the scholarship. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity. Hope that I will leave an impact in the architecture field one day, all thanks to your generosity and support.