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Elizabeth S. Schmerling Endowed Scholarship


The Elizabeth S. Schmerling Endowed Scholarship was established in memory of Elizabeth Schmerling, who graduated from Washington University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Elizabeth excelled in her studies and sought to help others study and understand the field she so loved. She continued her academic career at the University of Pennsylvania with the goal of earning master’s degrees in both architecture and landscape architecture. Shortly after embarking on her graduate school studies, Elizabeth was diagnosed with brain cancer. For nineteen months, while courageously pursuing treatment, she stayed focused on her graduate studies and a life filled with architecture. Elizabeth died on April 26, 2005, when she was 23 years old. Her parents and brother chose to honor her memory by establishing an endowed scholarship at Washington University.

The Elizabeth S. Schmerling Endowed Scholarship is a prestigious award that provides financial support for talented rising seniors who are on track to earn a bachelor’s degree in architecture. The scholarship is awarded annually to one or more recipients. Selection is determined by a committee of four faculty based on superior academic performance and scholarship; innovative thought and approaches to the science and art of architecture; and a commitment to the study and understanding of architecture that serves as an inspiration to professors and peers alike.

In addition to the scholarship, each recipient receives a significant architecture book as a memento to enhance their lifelong library. The book includes a custom-made bookplate, designed by two prior scholarship recipients, that is inscribed with each recipient’s name and the date the scholarship was awarded.

Pencil and watercolor drawing of the Louvre Pyramid and Louvre Palace in Paris. The pyramid is a darker orange, and the palace is a darker yellow with a gray-blue roof.

Elizabeth Schmerling, Le Louvre et La Pyramide, summer 2001. Pencil and watercolor.


Recipients

2024-25 Academic Year

Jiahe Jin
Daniel Moroze
Max Liu*

*Max Liu’s scholarship has been deferred for one year since he will be participating in a one-year internship at The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He will receive the scholarship when he returns to WashU for his senior year, 2025-26.

2023-24 Academic Year

Kaiwen Wang
Qingheng (Catherine) Yu

2022-23 Academic Year

Chuchu Qi
Eric (Beichen) Wang
Maya Yildirim

2021-22 Academic Year

Andrew Entis
Connor Merritt
Yuwei Yang

2020-21 Academic Year

Meredith Busch
Odette James
Olga Sobkiv

2019-20 Academic Year

Wentao Guo
Rebecca Shen
Makio Yamamoto

2018-19 Academic Year

Caroline Amstutz
Madeleine Farrer
Jack Freedman

2017-18 Academic Year

Qin Ye Chen
Rebecca Resnic
Jie (Ryan) Wu

2016-17 Academic Year

Aria Griffin
Rachel LeFevre
Tianyi Zhang

2015-16 Academic Year

Hae Rin (Sandra) Moon
Erin Wong
Ailing Zhang

2014-15 Academic Year

Alexander Clouser
Sophie Donta
Kayla Kroot

2013-14 Academic Year

Reed Miller
Elaine Stokes
Adam Strobel

2012-13 Academic Year

David Hamm
Julia Roberts
Lydia Slocum

2011-12 Academic Year

Donesh Ferdowsi
Krista Merrill
John David Scott

2010-11 Academic Year

Miriam Leah Keller
Michael Robert Pope
Aric Skurdal

2009-10 Academic Year

Daniel Henry Bor DuGoff
James Patrick Peraino
Laura E. Siebenaler

2008-09 Academic Year

Hok Kang
Andrew John Sternad

2007-08 Academic Year

Andrew Harrison Stern

2006-07 Academic Year

Daniel Adam LaRossa
Carolyn Wong Carlberg

2005-06 Academic Year

Megan M. (Eder) Chafin
Nathaniel Gregory Felder
Anisa Baldwin Metzger

Gifts

Gifts in memory of Elizabeth Schmerling may be made through Washington University’s online giving form or through the mail in care of:

The Elizabeth S. Schmerling Endowed Scholarship
Attn: Aly Abrams
Washington University in St. Louis
One Brookings Drive, MSC 1202-414-3100
St. Louis, MO 63130

For more information about the Elizabeth S. Schmerling Endowed Scholarship, contact:

Aly Abrams
Senior Associate Director of Advancement
Washington University in St. Louis
One Brookings Drive, MSC 1202-414-3100
St. Louis, MO 63130
aly.abrams@wustl.edu
314.935.7223