Last week the Friends of Chabot College honored HMC Architects, the HMC Designing Futures Foundation (DFF), and HMC’s Project Designer Shweta Joshi with their inaugural Partnership in Excellence Awards at their eighth annual gala on October 6.
In his introduction, Adrian Huang, the chair of Chabot’s Architecture and Interior Design program praised HMC for consistently going above and beyond to support the program. HMC’s DFF, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), was founded in 2009 to positively impact HMC’s communities. Over the past decade, the DFF has invested more than $1.5 million in transformative nonprofits that serve our communities. The DFF supports Chabot’s architecture program through its Bridge to College program and each year the school receives a $5,000 unrestricted DFF grant to support underserved students who aspire to ACE-related careers. Joshi, who has participated in numerous student charrettes, project presentations, and critiques with Chabot students, was honored for her outstanding volunteerism and leadership.
“I am honored and humbled to receive such generous recognition from Chabot College. I feel lucky to be able to represent the DFF in our community and take great pride in being part of the HMC family. It was a memorable night and the speech by Chabot College alumna Andrea Campos who overcame many challenges in her life and now attends UC Berkeley moved me deeply. It made me realize how transformative the contributions of community colleges are for underprivileged first-generation students. Scholarships and mentorship play a pivotal role for students in providing a fair chance at having a successful career. I am thrilled to serve on the DFF Board of Directors and the Chabot Architecture Board. My efforts would not have been possible without the tremendous support of the DFF and Marko Blagojevic” said Joshi.
Chabot College was founded in 1961 and serves the communities of Hayward, Union City, San Leandro, Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Cherryland, Ashland, and Fairview, California. The college is a minority-majority school and Hispanic-Serving Institution; 40.1 percent of its students are Hispanic, 29.1 percent are Asian, and 9.9 percent are Black or African American. Between 50-88 percent of the students in each ethnic group are first-generation college students.
Thank you to Chabot College President Susan Sperling, Ph.D., Chair of the Chabot Architecture and Interior Design Department Adrian Huang, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement Yvonne Wu Craig, Hayward City Council Member and Mayoral candidate Mark Salinas, the Chabot College Board of Directors, and the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District Board of Trustees.
HMC Architects is committed to mentoring the next generation of architects and helping students advance in the architecture industry and we are proud to have leveraged our impact through volunteerism and community engagement. Thank you Chabot College for the recognition and partnership in designing solutions that enrich people’s lives.
