Leadership in CAP
Within the college's 50 years of education, between 60-70 alumni have been recognized with awards directly from CAP.
In 2012, Benedict was honored by the CAP program with the Award of Outstanding achievement.
A Ball State alumnus, dedicated to improving lives in Indiana, was recognized as one of the top young architects in the country by the American Institute of Architects.
Zachary Benedict was one of 14 architects honored by this organization with the Youth Architects Award for 2015.
This will be the second consecutive year a Ball State alum has been awarded this prestigious recognition.
Every architect on the list has been licensed fewer than 10 years. Regardless of age, anyone who is an architect member of the AIA can qualify.
According to their website, it “is given to individuals who have shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession in an early stage of their architectural career.”
Benedict likes to help others with his talents, an aspiration he’s held for a while.
He first started on his path to architecture and activism during childhood.
“When I was 6 years old, my grandpa told me that if I wanted to make a difference in the world, I should be an architect,” said Benedict.
He said he didn’t know what his grandfather meant at the time, but Benedict went with it.
Benedict got into Ball State’s College of Architecture and Planning (CAP) the first time he applied.
While in the program, he began to follow his grandfather’s advice and joined the Community Based Projects program.
The program helps inner-city neighborhoods and rural towns in Indiana by providing education in environmental planning and design and technical assistance in urban planning and design matters.
After Benedict’s graduation, a company in Los Angeles offered him a full time position, but Benedict turned it down. He wanted to continue working and making a difference in his home state.
“I think that says a lot about who he is,” said Wesley Janz, a professor of architecture who taught Benedict.
Now, Benedict works at MKM architecture + design in Fort Wayne, Ind.
A focus Benedict shares with the company is the engagement of low-income families in their designs. The ability of architecture to influence lives motivates Benedict, he said.
Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco, Dean of the College of Architecture and Planning and professor of architecture said Ball State's CAP tries to encourages students to take an initiative in their leadership work.
A majority of CAP’s work is done in groups, through projects and in studio settings.
“For many faculty when we look at our students we see in them the way in which we change the world for the better,” said Guillermo Vasquez de Velasco, Dean of the College of Architecture and Planning and professor of architecture.
Benedict is currently using his degree to improve the lives of the aging populations in cities and towns around the nation.
“Some of us say students are our projects," Vasquez de Velasco said. "In many instances we don’t have a direct impact in the future if it's not through our students. I think that many of our faculty look at alumni like Zach and say - he’s probably among my best projects."
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