Student Receives Holstrom Scholarship
G. Daniel Gensch, a fifth-year student in architecture at Kansas State University, has been awarded The John E. Holstrom Alpha Tau Omega Architectural Scholarship.
The 20th Holstrom Scholarship of $1,000, along with a plaque and certificate, was presented to Gensch at Architecture Evening on September 12, 2008, by Kansas State Alpha Tau Omega Students’ Aid Endowment Fund President William L. Muir and Chapter President Peter E. Boos. Gensch’s name will also be added to a plaque located in Weigel Library in Seaton Hall.
A resident of Wichita, Kansas, Gensch is a member of Ichthus Campus Ministry, where he has been a part of the leadership team. His impressive list of service tasks includes student membership on the College of Architecture, Planning and Design Mock Interview/DesignExpo Committee and the Architecture Student Advisory Board. His entry was awarded first place in the 2006 Bowman Design Forum competition of the K-State College of Architecture, Planning and Design. In addition, his grades have earned him inclusion in the Dean’s List, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and “Who’s Who.”
Gensch is described by his instructors as “an extremely dedicated and hard-working student who spends many hours in the design studio. He is always one of the most engaged students in a series of architectural history classes he took.” As a teaching assistant, Dan is a “very bright and talented young man” who “has handled himself in the most competent and professional fashion.”
During the spring 2008 semester, Gensch completed an academic internship in Boston at Ann Beha Architects, a 40-member firm that specializes in the design and/or renovation of cultural and academic building types such as libraries and museums, as well as historic preservation projects. While in Boston, Gensch independently participated in an urban community design competition which he described as “challenging and eye opening.”
Gensch is working toward a master of architecture and maintains a 3.740 grade point average with a 4.000 grade point average in graduate credits. His vocational passion encompasses quality design achieved within manageable means. Most of all, he values his faith and young family. Gensch and his wife are excitedly expecting their first child in December.
The Holstrom Scholarship, established in 1990, is named after John E. Holstrom, a 1968 initiate of the Kansas State University chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity and 1972 Kansas State University graduate who died in December of 1989 at the age of 40. The stated purposes of this scholarship are “to perpetuate the memory of John E. Holstrom on the campus of Kansas State University and to provide educational opportunities and assistance for fifth-year architecture students who possess exemplary attributes in scholarship, fellowship and character.”
The Kansas State Alpha Tau Omega Students’ Aid Endowment Fund, in conjunction with the College of Architecture, Planning and Design, established the Holstrom Scholarship. An endowed gift of $20,000 from the architectural firm of Weeter-Kienast-Alexander (WKA) of Dallas, Texas, which was Holstrom’s firm, is the largest part of this endowment.
To be eligible, a student must have at least a 2.75 grade point average and “judged to be of good character and sound academic standing and who has contributed to the quality of life of the Department of Architecture, the College of Architecture, Planning and Design and Kansas State University. The recipient should demonstrate a high interest and ability in the field of architecture, with demonstrated professional promise. In all other respects, this scholarship will be awarded without restriction to gender, race, handicap, religion or national origin.”
The finalists for this scholarship are chosen by a screening committee within the Department of Architecture selected by the head of the department. The screening committee provides a written assessment of each finalist, describing and evaluating potential, scholastic aptitude, exemplary fellowship, outstanding character and contributions to the university. The head of the Department of Architecture, in consultation with the dean of Architecture, Planning and Design, selects the recipient.
Dennis L. Law, dean of the KSU College of Architecture, Planning and Design, commented, “We are very pleased to be able to offer this scholarship to an outstanding fifth-year architecture student. Special thanks to the local Alpha Tau Omega Endowment Fund and the WKA architectural firm for making this scholarship a reality, and congratulations to Dan Gensch on being the scholarship recipient.”
Peter Magyar, head of the KSU Department of Architecture, said, “Dan Gensch is one of our top students and possesses good, all-around qualities that fit the criteria for this scholarship.”
William L. Muir, president of the Kansas State Alpha Tau Omega Students’ Aid Endowment Fund, stated, “We are extremely proud to have the opportunity to award this scholarship in memory of John Holstrom to such an outstanding architecture student as Dan Gensch. John loved architecture, he loved life in general, and he loved Kansas State University. It is very appropriate that we memorialize his life of service with this scholarship.”