“My short term goal was to graduate from high school with strong marks and attend a university that has a Bachelors of Arts in Architecture. I am currently attending Roger Williams University because they have an accredited architecture program, I’m familiar with the school, and I can stay close to my family.

My long term goal is to help improve communities to feel safe and be comfortable around each other. I don’t only see architecture as a way to make a building look beautifully designed, but as a way to create solutions to help improve people’s lives. I have lived in a low income community my entire life. My family is hard working and they never let us feel like we had less than others. As I grew older I noticed the disrepair of buildings in my community and asked questions about why windows were not fixed and trash was not picked up off the streets. I wondered if my school rooms were falling apart and empty lots were not cleaned up for a more productive space. When I did come across a beautiful building, I was proud to have it close to home.

Through my experience in design, construction and architecture, I see that having a community proud of its surroundings, not only allow the residents to see beauty it allows people to feel pride. When I last visited my parents home country of EL Salvador I was able to see first hand the poverty they had left. Again, I observed an environment where people were eager to want the infrastructure around them more sustainable and be an asset to their lives.

This experience showed me again that being part of designing and building a community to be something its residents are proud of, can only make that community stronger and help it thrive. When I become an architect I plan to help communities be the best that they can be.”

Cindy Villanueva
Sophomore, Roger Williams University
ACE RI Alumni