Landscape Architecture Student is Finalist in National Scholarship Competition
David Vogel, graduate student in K-State’s landscape
architecture program, was one of five finalists in the inaugural 2008 Olmsted Scholars
Program.
Organized by the Landscape Architecture Foundation, the
$25,000 scholarship is the first to focus on leadership in sustainable design
and planning. The Olmsted Scholars Program recognizes students with exceptional
leadership potential who are using ideas, influence, communication, service and
leadership to advance sustainable planning and design and to foster human and
societal benefits.
Vogel is in his third and final year of studies for a master
of landscape architecture from the K-State College of Architecture, Planning
and Design. A native of Topeka, he received a
bachelor of arts from K-State in political science and industrial labor
relations in 1993, then graduated from Drake
University Law
School in Des Moines, Iowa,
in 1997. He practiced law for nine years but found the work uninspiring as it
involved a constant focus on the past and things that could not be changed.
In high school, Vogel considered pursuing an architecture degree.
He discovered landscape architecture when he decided to change careers. Because
of strong ties to the university and the community, returning to K-State to
study in the highly ranked landscape architecture program was a natural choice.
“Landscape architecture,” Vogel says, “is much more
interesting and satisfying for me because it involves a forward-thinking
approach and an optimistic view of the future. Rather than focusing on the past and simply
assigning blame for what has already happened, landscape architects get to
concentrate their efforts on the future by designing better places for people
to enjoy for generations to come.”
After graduating, Vogel would like to work for a firm that
does larger projects, such as urban design and neighborhood design.
“I would also like to perform work internationally and maybe
even live overseas if a good opportunity arises,” he said.
Vogel’s wife, Chantel, is an elementary school teacher and
also a K-State alumnus. The couple has two children.
A student at the University
of California, Berkeley, was selected as the national winner
of the scholarship. Other finalists were from the University
of Oregon, the University
of Virginia and the University of British
Columbia.
For more information, contact:
David Vogel
CAPD@ksu.edu, 785.532.1090