Even the untrained eye can admire Fabiola Troncoso's architectural model of a university Guest House and understand why a top award of excellence in design was presented to her by judges from Helix/Architecture and Design, the American Institute of Architects, Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Dept. of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design.
A peek through the window of the model reveals interior design detail that is exquisite. In conversation about the education she is receiving at UMKC, her past, her future, and her responsibility to other Latinos, Troncoso demonstrates quickly that she is keeping an eye on both the small details AND the big picture of life, as well as building models.
Troncoso is concerned about the high college dropout rate among Latinos and understands full well the sacrifices -- and the support systems -- that are necessary to create a more positive educational future for them.
Her parents, Mary Elizabeth and Jorge Troncoso of Gladstone, MO, both successful architectural engineers in Mexico, sacrificed their careers to bring her to the U.S. from Chihuahua when she was ten. She credits their support as fundamental in giving her the direction and ambition to succeed.
"My mom looked at my strengths -- I was good at math and very artistic -- and put together the idea for me that architecture and design would be a good field for me," she says. Troncoso, a second-year student in UMKC's Architecture, Urban Planning, and Design Program, figures she has another three years of education and three years of professional work before she gets her license.
"I wanted to be both an architect and an interior designer, and ultimately, to work in an architecture and design firm in Kansas City. There are very few Latinas in the architecture and design field," she says, adding that she may decide to stay in school long enough to earn a master's degree in architecture and a bachelor's degree in business.
Perhaps from her parents' example, Troncoso has learned the lesson of sacrifice. "As an architecture student, you have to be very focused. The intensity means you have to leave out parties, church, family, and other interests. You have to leave these things behind for one dream. I hope my brain doesn't explode. It gets really stressful," she says.
UMKC students who competed for the Bud Prize of $500 spent countless hours since returning from winter break completing their intricate projects -- each designed in the style of an assigned architect and including not just the model, but stacks of precise architectural drawings, floor plans, and support materials. On the day of the competition in March, each student was challenged by a panel of architectural professionals acting as judges to provide an oral defense and to explain to onlookers every minute twist and turn in the thought process behind the finished work. The silver lining to the tension-filled exercise, Troncoso admits, is that students in UMKC's program are treated as if they already are the professionals they hope to be. The students are adapting early to the professional rigors before them.
Troncoso says it hasn't been easy finding "her place" -- either on campus or in the classroom, studying for her chosen profession.
"When I came to UMKC, it took a while to find an Hispanic group to be involved in," she says. Troncoso has known the value of involvement in Hispanic organizations since her days in middle school. Currently, she is active in the campus group, Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) and she encourages other Latinos to seek such support.
"Getting into college and staying there is difficult in the Latino culture. Many Latino families are low-income and students feel the need to take full-time jobs before they can complete a college education," she laments. "Also, frequently there are so few Latino faculty and that is crucial, she insists. Latino faculty can forge a connection with students and provide help in bridging from the present to future attainment of dreams. "If we don't have that (Latino faculty), who are we supposed to go to for help?" she asks.
Troncoso comprehends the inner strength and fortitude that will be necessary to succeed in a male-dominated profession where few, if any, Latinas have gone before. Her insights seem to belie her youth (she's just 19). She knows already that, both for architectural models as well as successful career professionals, it is often the work that is unseen by most observers that provides the strongest foundation.
[Five years later, Ms. Troncoso was an architect and designer in New York.]
