NEW ORLEANS – The Delgado Architecture Student Association (DASO) celebrated 30 years of educational excellence by recognizing successful alumni as well as its business and industry affiliations at a special event on Thursday, April 16.
Visitors, including local, statewide and nationwide industry representatives, joined the students, faculty and staff of the Delgado Architecture/ Design Construction Technology program in the Student Life Center on the City Park Campus.
Along with DASO Advisory Committee members, about 35 Delgado Architecture alumni from classes dating back to 1985 attended. They are included among the Delgado Community College Alumni Circles of Excellence award-winners.
“Delgado’s DASO alumni are professionals who have carried the banner and provided strong leadership for this award-winning, business and industry based student organization,” said Professor Victor Mirzai, who heads the Architecture/Design Construction Technology program at Delgado.
DASO has a strong chapter structure including a student board of directors, clearly stated bylaws, and bi-monthly meetings. Throughout the year, the organization hosts guest speakers, connects with alumni and participates in a Student Mentoring Day with the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans and other professionals within the community.
DASO’s many business and industry affiliations include: American Institute of Architects (AIA) New Orleans; American Institute for Building Design (AIBD); Construction Management Association of America (CMAA) Gulf Coast; Home Builders Association (HBA) of Greater New Orleans; International Code Council; National Association of Home Builders (NAHB); Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS); National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) New Orleans; New Orleans Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI); New Orleans Home & Garden Show; and the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans.
Mary Burns, national chapter manager of NAHB, attended the April 16 event to recognize the Delgado chapter for outstanding achievement.
David Pillsbury, national president of the AIBD, also attended the event and welcomed the organization’s new student chapter at Delgado Community College. He presented a $300 grant to Professor Victor Mirzai given on behalf of AIBD to assist the Delgado students with establishing their new chapter–the organization’s first in Louisiana.
Professor Mirzai said, “We are always looking to expand and I’ve been observing the AIBD throughout my career. When I saw them at the International Building Show [earlier this year in Las Vegas] hosting a live design competition and I observed the quality of their work, I became very excited.”
Both Burns and Pillsbury traveled to Delgado from Washington, DC, in order to attend the event.
