After just one year in this role, I better appreciate how important it is for AIA Utah members to engage with each other. More specifically, there is a strong desire to provide mentorship opportunities for professionals at any point in their career. This February, AIA Utah applied for and received a generous grant from the College of Fellows to implement Wasatch Connect. Our goal with Wasatch Connect is to create a viable mentorship program that has immediate and long-term impact and strengthens the pipeline of architects from childhood through fellowship.

The obvious starting point is to better support our partner organizations and eliminate duplication of efforts. Funding from the College of Fellows grant allows AIA Utah to support the following groups during 2024:

NOMA Utah

• Project Pipeline — a summer course that introduces architecture to underrepresented middle schoolers.
• Path to Fellowship — mentoring events where fellows from underrepresented backgrounds share their experiences with recent graduates navigating their first years in the profession.

AIAS at the University of Utah School of Architecture

• Mentorship initiative so that every student member of AIAS will have a personal mentor that is a practicing architect. This will kick off for the fall semester.

WIA SLC

• Partner with WIA SLC to offer a targeted mentoring event for young women interested in a potential architecture career.

Utah Center for Architecture

• Educating Elementary Children Through Architecture (EECTA) is a curriculum for third graders. AIA Utah and UCFA will revitalize this program and attempt to have the curriculum approved by fall so that we can implement it in local elementary schools starting September 2024.

In addition to the listed partnerships, AIA Utah will launch the following initiatives. Keep an eye out in Punchlist and on social media for dates and times!

• Lunch with Legends — informal panel discussions over lunch with local Fellows and legends from the profession. All are invited.
• Fireside with Fellows — intimate, casual gatherings for emerging professionals and local Fellows to learn more from each other and provide mentorship. Hosted by AIA Utah YAF.
• Path To Fellowship with Jeanne Jackson — workshop intended to educate and encourage interested architects about the Fellowship application process.

If you would like to serve as a mentor, please contact me at ahroberts@aiautah.org.