Gabriella Doe is a second-year student attending the University of Notre Dame, where she is pursuing a major in Architecture and minor in Latino Studies. She is from Fort Worth, Texas, and takes great pride in her African American and Panamanian heritages. Growing up, Gabriella’s fascination with drawing and historic buildings that represented her cultural background, eventually translated to her interest in architecture. In high school, she participated in art and architecture competitions, winning several state-level awards for her large-scale architectural sketches. At the University of Notre Dame, Gabriella writes for STOA, the student-run architectural magazine, where she has interviewed architectural entrepreneurs throughout the United States via Zoom. During the summer of 2023, she worked as an unpaid intern teaching English, Spanish, and art classes at Sifais, a social work organization in La Carpio, Costa Rica. While at Notre Dame, Gabriella aims to combine her cultural identity with architecture to explore the social impacts of colonial architecture in Latin America and West Africa. Gabriella is grateful to God for providing her with such artistic abilities, and for the support from her family. Upon completing her degree, Gabriella intends to create affordable, environmentally-friendly, yet culturally conscious, community and residential architecture
Hello, I am Luiza Vara. I am a Brazilian from the very sunny Phoenix, Arizona and a part of Desert Vista High School’s graduating class of 2018. I embrace who I am and my diversity, as it is what makes me unique and gives me my edge. I plan on attending the University of Notre Dame for the accredited bachelor’s degree in architecture to further my aspirations of becoming a well-trained and diverse architect. Over the course of 5 years I intend to develop my passion for cultures, including an abroad year in Rome. Architecture is my calling and I hope to become very successful in my destined field.