August 24, 2020

Hello AIAS!

Exciting news! The National Membership Committee is proud to announce the official launch of the AIAS Alumni Mentorship Program (“AAMP”) to keep AIAS alumni connected to the AIAS community!

This program is designed to give our alumni who have given their time and resources to the organization, an opportunity to engage with AIAS members as a chapter’s mentor. These mentee chapter leaders go above and beyond to manage local AIAS chapters in the midst of their architecture education and could use the advice and experience from someone like that faced many similar challenges!

Over the past year, our committee has been working diligently to provide a framework of mentorship in the AIAS between chapters and alumni. These mentorship connections will allow our alumni to give back by passing on knowledge that they gained during their time in the organization. From treasury issues and fundraising help to event planning and leadership, this program will cover everything! The beta pairings were: Mike Chiappa and Andrews University, Dominic Armendariz and NYIT Old Westbury, Luke Vizcusi and Poway High School, and Carl Dilcher and San Antonio College.

In the beta AAMP that was conducted this past year, we found that both AIAS chapters and alumni benefitted from the conversations they had. Throughout the year, they discussed important topics such as administering chapter elections and transitions effectively, fundraising help, event planning, managing FBD projects, and more!

While talking to our beta program members from this past year, we asked if they got anything out of the program they were not expecting. One participant told us “Everything! I learned about leadership from a new point of view. I found that many people go through the same or similar struggles as I did, and that there is always a way to improve.”

Take advantage of this incredible opportunity to stay plugged into the AIAS community and mentor a chapter for a year! Just fill out the interest survey and we’ll pair up chapters with a mentor in September! In addition to your pairings, the Membership Committee will provide you with a guide that talks about mentorship best practices, suggested meeting times, topics for conversation, etc. For more information or additional questions, email vicepresident@aias.org.

Hope you’re staying healthy and safe!