Student, Faculty & Alumni Profiles

“Everything I do as an artist and architect comes into my teaching methodology. I try to think about problems creatively and research them through a multitude of lenses. I expect the same of my students.”

“What I love most is bringing the history of a place to the surface for people to see. When people understand the larger context of a building, site or city, they have a deeper appreciation for it.”

Dionna Hatch served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala before joining CAPLA's Master of Landscape Architecture program.

Mario Nuño-Whelan served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru before joining CAPLA's Master of Landscape Architecture program.

Sean Maccabe served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in The Gambia before joining CAPLA's Master of Landscape Architecture program.

Forty years after his graduation from the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture’s undergraduate architecture program, Mitchell Freedman AIA ’80 B.Arch remains in touch with the two faculty members who most influenced him and his work.

For Gabby Abou-Zeid, who graduated with her Bachelor's in Sustainable Build Environments in 2019, her path exploring transportation and urban planning has been anything but linear.

Eric Sterner ’15 B.Arch, founding principal of Last Architects, says, "My creativity is inspired by intangible moments and patterns—all rooted in observance. I believe these uncategorical and unplanned moments create points to reflect upon and later understand."

Jenny Nguyen, a fifth-year architecture student whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam before she was born, shares her experience as a CAPLA student, with a particular focus on how heritage, family and work ethic play a role in academic excellence, even in this time of pandemic.

Ramzy Bejjani served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in northern Ethiopia before joining CAPLA's Master of Landscape Architecture program.

Chicago native Brooke Sands, now halfway through the five-year CAPLA undergraduate architecture program, offers insight into the challenges and passions of studying architecture.

Rebecca Johnstone served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in The Gambia before joining CAPLA's Master of Landscape Architecture program.