Skip to content

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

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