Henderson, Kosior claim top honors from the College of Architecture, Art and Construction

Two architecture majors have claimed the top academic awards from the College of Architecture, Art and Construction. Meryl Henderson earned the Blue Key Academic and Leadership Award, and Faith Kosior was awarded the Phi Kappa Phi Certificate of Merit.

“Meryl and Faith demonstrated tremendous passion and leadership during their time at Clemson University,” said Ece Erdogmus, dean of the College of Architecture, Art and Construction. “I’m proud to see them both make the most of the No. 1 student experience, and their futures in the profession of architecture are bright.”

Henderson and Kosior are both members of the Class of 2025, set to graduate in May.

Meryl Henderson: Leading with spirit

When she wasn’t studying in the clean, white, glassy studio spaces of Lee Hall, Henderson was a fixture at one of the most colorful Clemson traditions: Homecoming.

“The Homecoming float build is definitely my favorite Clemson tradition,” she said. “I got involved freshman year when one of my friends was leading it, and I just enjoyed all of the aspects, whether it was the actual building of the physical structure, or the design, or getting to lead a group of people and meet new people and make connections.”

As the name suggests, the Blue Key Academic and Leadership Award recognizes students who distinguish themselves through campus leadership. By her senior year, Henderson had become Kappa Kappa Gamma’s float chair, heading a fast and fateful build that she and her friends rushed to complete before the destruction of Hurricane Helene.

“They were filming the documentary, which I am in, and crying a little bit because it’s emotional,” she explained. “I had worked on this for about 8 months or so, and it was kind of falling apart, but I have never seen a group work that hard that fast on the float.”

However, her leadership activities extended beyond the build on Bowman Field. She was the philanthropy director for Kappa Kappa Gamma, engaging with the City of Clemson Rotary Club to host book drives and other community initiatives, and she served as a College of Architecture, Art and Construction Student Ambassador. For her commitment to Greek Life on campus, she was inducted into the Order of Omega Honor Society. She also excelled academically and an Honors College student and member of the Dixon Fellows Program.

And, like many architecture students before her, she counts her semester at the Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies (informally known as “The Villa”) in Genoa, Italy, as the most memorable part of her Clemson Experience, noting that it solidified her passion for architecture and travel. Her next step is to pursue her Master of Architecture degree at Columbia University.

“It’s definitely a dream,” she said. “I never thought that I would be able to attend a school like this one, and I feel very lucky, and I owe a lot of that to Clemson.”

Faith Kosior: Researching design for a better world

Kosior’s journey into architecture began about as far away from Clemson as one can go: Australia. During a visit in 2017, her view of the Sydney Opera House ignited an appreciation for design, but her dive at the Great Barrier Reef left her dismayed. Instead of the vibrant colors and diverse wildlife she expected to see, she witnessed what looked like an underwater wasteland.

“The excitement I had felt for this excursion over the past two weeks quickly turned to despair as I realized the extent of the reef’s damage,” she recalled. By the time she arrived in Clemson in the Summer of 2021, her despair had turned into a passion for sustainable design.

She became a leader in undergraduate research almost immediately, presenting at the  EUREKA! Undergraduate Research Symposium during her first semester, examining how architectural design impacts the quality of life and mobility of older adults. As she progressed through her Clemson Experience, her concern for the impact of design on nature found its way into her work.

 One of her projects centered on solving a problem she witnessed on campus: birds killed by flying into glass. During a Summer 2023 internship at Yale University, she learned that up to 988 million birds die from glass collisions nationwide each year. When she returned to Clemson the next Fall, her design project for a New York skyscraper focused on preventing bird deaths with an elegant solution: “fritting.”

“Bird fritting is a type of ceramic enamel that is made from finely ground glass, and it is baked onto glass to form a ceramic coating,” she explained. “Fritting can be applied as dots, lines, or other patterns so that they are visible to birds but are relatively transparent to humans.”

In addition to earning a spot on the President’s List with a 4.0 GPA every semester, she continually impressed her professors with her creativity and research abilities. She also dedicated time to service outside the classroom, serving as a co-fundraising chair for the Pickens County Habitat for Humanity, president of the Clemson chapter of American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), Honors Student Advisory Board, and more.

“Not only has she held leadership positions, but she is a leader in our architecture studios which are the backbone of our curriculum,” noted Associate Professor Sallie Hambright-Belue, who directs the undergraduate architecture program. “She leads by example and is always willing to contribute to the studio culture and class.”

In her senior year, her interests and research experiences culminated in a project that she considers her favorite. The Biophilic Gateway is her design for a visitor center in Carson, Washington in the Wind River Trust. Her design aims to meet the requirements of being Petal Certified Living Building Challenge, which includes incorporating a net-positive water purification system, locally sourced materials, eliminating on-site material waste, and other eco-friendly objectives. Her next step for the project is to submit it for the AIA Committee on the Environment’s Top Ten awards, looking to continue the School of Architecture’s success in sustainable design.

After graduation, Kosior plans to gain real-world experience at an architecture firm before continuing her education. Like Henderson, she counts her time at the Villa in Genoa as her most memorable experience as a student.

“I was able to live and experience new cultures and all types of architecture, practice my sketching skills, continue my passion for taking photos, and make lifelong friendships,” she said. “I am forever grateful for this transformative experience.”