2021-2022 PAYETTE Sho-Ping Chin Memorial Academic Scholarship Recipient

PAYETTE is pleased to announce the 2021-2022 recipient of the PAYETTE Sho-Ping Chin Memorial Academic Scholarship, Virginia Tech student Brittney Sooksengdao.

Brittney is the eldest of two daughters of Lao, Vietnam War-era refugees, born and raised in Olathe, Kansas. She spent her childhood in Kansas with an extensive Lao family and community until she attended Yale University for her undergraduate degree in Architecture and Urban Studies from 2012-2016. Since graduating Brittney has worked primarily in commercial workplace interior architecture in Washington, DC where she recently received her WELL AP credential. Currently, Brittney is pursuing her graduate degree in architecture full-time at the Virginia Tech Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center while also working part-time at Gensler DC.

Brittney is a resolute architectural designer driven by design as a service to empower people through wellness, connection, and social equity. Shaped by her personal identity and disciplined through years of competitive gymnastics, she pursues design with grit.

Brittney is the sixth recipient of the scholarship, which honors Sho-Ping Chin, FAIA, a long-time principal at PAYETTE and a healthcare practice leader who was instrumental in defining and elevating the national discourse for women in design. The annual process of giving in Sho-Ping’s name offers us the time to reflect on the professional and personal values she brought to our practice, and it is an honor to select a recipient who exemplifies these qualities. As a firm, we are excited to support Brittney and see her advance throughout her career.

Samples from Brittney’s Portfolio:

The Playbook: Methods & Forms in Architecture, Undergraduate Studio Spring 2015

The Capitol for the 51st State, Forum, Graduate Studio Fall 2020