2025 Recipient of the Kelly J. Edwards Architecture Scholarship
Scott Edwards Architecture’s Kelly J. Edwards Architecture Scholarship is named for one of SEA’s co-founders and serves to remember him as an architect dedicated to good design and a proponent of mentoring young designers. We launched this annual scholarship in partnership with ACE Mentor Program of Oregon, an after-school program that promotes high school students exploring careers in architecture, construction, and engineering. The scholarship awards $5,000 to a student who is pursuing a college degree in Architecture, and the recipient then joins SEA for a summer internship.
This scholarship is now in its sixth year, and we are thrilled to announce our 2025 recipient, Krishna Prasannan. Krishna is attending the University of Oregon and pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture degree. His interest in design began in middle school when he says that he started to notice buildings and their differences while on summer trips with family. “I started to see that different places have different designs, and I would take a photo of buildings that I liked and draw it at home, even adding features that I thought might make it better or more interesting,” he shares. Krishna’s interest continued to grow and led him to participate in ACE as a high school student, further inspiring him to pursue design as a career. Jennifer Marsicek, Principal at SEA and mentor with the ACE program shared that “Krishna was on my ACE team for three years and was engaged, curious, and driven to learn. He pushed himself and others on the team to create successful projects each year.”
“Krishna was on my ACE team for three years and was engaged, curious, and driven to learn. He pushed himself and others on the team to create successful projects each year.”
- Jennifer Marsicek, Principal, Scott Edwards Architecture
When asked how the ACE program helped prepare him for college, he describes the benefits of collaboration. “I learned to communicate ideas, divide tasks, and bring together different viewpoints to complete a shared goal. This collaborative mindset has been crucial in my college studios, where peer feedback and group work are essential to the creative process.” As he enters his second year at the University of Oregon, Krishna reflects that the collaborative aspect of architecture is a quality of the profession that he has grown to appreciate even more, and how he looks forward to continuing to expand ideas through teamwork.
“I learned to communicate ideas, divide tasks, and bring together different viewpoints to complete a shared goal. This collaborative mindset has been crucial in my college studios, where peer feedback and group work are essential to the creative process.”
Krishna is inspired by a modern aesthetic informed by historical context, sustainable materials, and spaces that incorporate ample natural light. When he envisions his future as an architect, he is excited to design many types of buildings. “I think about how I can make places like hospitals and airports more welcoming and hospitable, and how I can take residences or commercial spaces and make them work even better for the users,” he says. Krishna is also excited by the prospect of designing performing arts and theatre spaces, an apt integration because he is a musician and has traveled the world playing the South Indian percussion instrument called Ghatam (clay pot).
As part of receiving the Kelly J. Edwards Architecture Scholarship, Krishna will join SEA for an internship in the Summer of 2026. He’ll have the opportunity to expand his knowledge of the different typologies SEA designs, an aspect of the internship that he looks forward to. Krishna also mentions his excitement to work in a creative setting and experience the day-to-day activities of an architecture firm, problem-solving as a team to find great solutions. On these points and many others, we’re eager to welcome Krishna back next summer for what we are sure will be an excellent internship experience for all.
We’d also like to take a moment to thank our 2024 recipient, Fernanda Gonzalez Huerta, for joining us this summer for her internship. We asked her about her experience, and she shared that she’s “had a great experience with SEA,” and that “everyone has been incredibly supportive and welcoming. [She’s] had the pleasure of participating in different projects and partaking in different activities, from tuning into design meetings to making models.”
Congratulations, Krishna, and thank you for joining us this summer, Fernanda!
