Nasrin Golshany

This is a photo of me demonstrating to my students in ARCH283 class, as my first time experience teaching as a sole-instructor in United States. I learned a lot from this experience and it was amazing to work with my students in-person after all virtual meetings during COVID-19 lockdown. (I am second from the left)

Degree: PhD in Architecture

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2023

Prior Degrees
BArch, School of Architecture & Environmental Design, Shahrood University of Technology, Shahrood, Iran

MLArch, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2022-2023 Scholarship
Anthony Wong Scholarship for Research in Sustainable Design

I Am Originally From Neyshabur, Iran

WHY I CAME TO THE UO AND HOW I CHOSE MY MAJOR
My intention for applying to the graduate program in the Department of Architecture at University of Oregon was due to its well knowledge faculty, high quality of study, and strong research facilities, where researchers combine theory with technology to deal with challenging practical problems. I chose UO because I believed that it can help me to grow as an educator. What I like the most about the College of Design is the diversity in the body of students, faculty members and staff. I believe the appreciation of the diversity in the College of Design has made a huge impact to bring different perspectives and ideas into classrooms.

Growing up in a country with rich culture, history and architecture gave me an opportunity that its percipience has improved in my mind from a young age. I realized that architecture lies where creativity and artistic skills meet physical aspects of design, what I had been vaguely thinking about for a long time. I believed in the impact of the physical environments on our daily life and I decided to become a designer, an architect and my passion was awarded by getting accepted in the Architecture School of Shahrood University of Technology in 2009.

UNIQUE QUALITIES I BRING TO MY STUDIES
From my early childhood, I learned to appreciate originality and value knowledge. Curiosity has been my driving force, as I was more than greedy to learn every single new subject. The stories of hardships in the life of my parents taught me precious lessons of perseverance and dedication towards my aims. I come from a large-family and I have always tried to be a successful model for my siblings and this adds to my sense of responsibility. Overall, I believe my life experiences have helped me to shape my character to be curious, patient, and persistent in learning new knowledge.

MY INFLUENTIAL PROFESSORS
When I was finishing my master’s thesis, I had an opportunity to work with a professor who is very devoted in advocating the principles of human-centered design. His engagement and commitment to address design decisions based on evidence-based design approach was extremely inspiring for me and I learned a lot. This learning experience helped me along the way to strategize and apply the basic principles of informed based design in both my professional and academic work.

MY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
I have recently been working for Habitat for Humanity as a non profit organization. I am extremely satisfied with this involvement as I found it very inspiring and meaningful as it impacts the environment and life of people. I have also been part of the swimming club on campus and I found it wonderful to connect with people, exercise and help with my mental health as the last year of the PhD program can be very stressful.

MY GREATEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT UO
The greatest learning experience I have had at UO is to respect everyone regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity and political views. I believe I have learned a lot from my time at UO to become an equity minded educator that proactively listens and does not judge people because of their opinions. I believe this has helped me to take ideas and make better decisions since different perspectives can give you a broader holistic world view.

AFTER GRADUATION
I am hoping to become an educator and continue my scholarly interests in a university or a college. I believe I am at a point that I can use the research and teaching experiences and learnings from my College of Design education and grow personally and professionally. I enjoy teaching and conducting research projects in the field of human-centered design and my hope is to serve students in a university in the United States.

YOUR GIFT
This scholarship is extremely essential for me since it allows me to travel to Dallas, Texas in April 2023 to attend Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) International Conference to present the findings of my research. The presentation revolves around the first phase of my PhD work. Being able to present and seek feedback from knowledgeable faculty members, educators and practitioners in the field will be extremely beneficial toward the completion of other phases of my PhD work. Unfortunately due to COVID, I have not been able to attend an in-person international conference and this can be a wonderful opportunity to connect with scholars in the field.

I am sincerely honored to have been selected as the recipient of the Anthony Wong scholarship. Thank you for your support, which has allowed me to be able to attend the ARCC conference. I  greatly appreciate this opportunity and your support for his thoughtful and generous gift. Your contribution and support of students at the College of Design is highly valued and appreciated.