Each month, the AIAS highlights the outstanding dedication and accomplishments of one of its members. The Chapter Leader of the Month can be a Chapter President or any member who has shown tremendous leadership.

 

   

Currently a M.Arch student at The University of New Mexico, Nicholas Romero has been an active member of the university’s AIAS chapter for over the past four years. On the local level, he serves as the Chapter President and is also a member of the FORUM Site Selection Committee on the national level. Recently, Nicholas and university faculty have begun to develop an updated Studio Culture Policy which will boldly outline the kind of culture that is both healthy and beneficial for the institution’s architecture student community.

Throughout the years, Nicholas has learned that the best way to engage with fellow architecture students is through the hosting of events. He and the UNM AIAS team have curated a semester of events that are educational and fun, while simultaneously strengthening the relationship between students and professionals in the community and beyond. The chapter’s events are broken down into three categories: TimeOuts, Workshops, and Fundraisers. TimeOuts are fun gatherings where students get to take a small break from studio. Workshops, on the other hand, are geared towards anything from learning how to use a specific software to developing professional skills to make transitioning into the office setting less worrisome. Then there are fundraisers, which raise money in creative ways in order to send students to the various AIAS conferences throughout the year. UNM AIAS has already had their first workshop of the semester, Illustrator 101, and are looking forward to the Photoshop and Rhinoceros 3D workshops in the coming months. There is also a Sketching Workshop happening in early October led by Terrance Brown, FAIA, which will give students the opportunity to earn 1 AXP credit for attending thanks to the chapter’s strong relationship with Albuquerque AIA, the local AIA chapter that UNM AIAS occasionally partners with.

Adam Fogel, 2019-2020 AIAS National Vice President, believes that Nick is an exceptional leader. “He cares greatly for not only his chapter, but the AIAS as a whole. Nick has always been willing to step up and take on challenges above and beyond that which is expected of him while serving on several national committees including the Membership Committee and the FORUM Site Selection Committee. At the local level, Nick exemplifies what it means to be a leader. His involvement prior to just being chapter president has helped shaped the chapter into what it is today and now, as chapter president, he is continuing to move the chapter forward,” says Adam.

 

What Benjamin Moore® color best represents your personality and why?

I choose this color because it represents warmth and hopefulness and it has the ability to create and maintain optimism in a climate of change. This color best represents my personality because I like to stay positive in any situation I am in.

 

 

This ‘Chapter Leader of the Month’ feature is sponsored by the Benjamin Moore.