2010
Justin Willard
"I would first like to say that I am extremely honored that I was chosen for this scholarship. I am surrounded by a great group of friends while in studio and am glad that they feel the same about me. It would have been an honor to know Joe and is an even bigger honor to be recognized in his name. My name is Justin Thomas Willard and grew up in a Lewiston N.Y., a small town right outside Niagara Falls N.Y. I grew up alongside my twin brother Jeremy, my Mom and Dad and when I was seven years old, my younger brother Jordan was born. From the age of five in kindergarten until I was a senior in high school I attended Lewiston Porter School District. I was involved in the National Honor Society and played on both the baseball and tennis teams. Throughout high school, I was unsure of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but decided on architecture, which lead me to choose Miami University as the place I would attend college. I was always interested in art from an early age and loved drawing and painting. All throughout high school I was involved in art classes and chose architecture as my AP concentration my senior year. This made my very interested in the field and ultimately led me to decide on studying architecture in college. I was hesitant about it at first but after my first year at Miami I fell in love with the program and am so glad I went into it. One thing that life as an architecture major has taught me is that you always need to prioritized what you’re doing, and keep to a strict schedule. There is a lot of work to be done in our major and having good time management skills is essential to being a good student and person. After my four years at Miami University, I will hopefully attend the University of Buffalo for graduate school and find a job in an architecture firm at home, and eventually work in a major city after I’m financially secure. My first and major goal after graduating is paying for my student loans, so I plan on working at an architecture firm right after I leave Miami. When I found out that I won this award it made me excited to know that my peers value my input and that they respect me on a personal level. This award will significantly help me pay for supplies while abroad in Florence, Italy next semester and will allow me to take part in art projects in Europe. Like Joe, I believe it is very expensive to be an architecture major and this scholarship will help me continue to follow my love of art and architecture."
