How the Robert Ivy scholarship is supporting the next generation of architects

Conrad Ontimara found his way to architecture through conversations about housing and what it means to have a place to call home.

Growing up in New Orleans, he saw how powerfully the built environment shapes daily life. Long before he learned to draft plans or build models, he understood that design could determine whether people felt secure, connected, or overlooked. Those early experiences still guide the way he thinks about the field today. 

Now entering his final year in the Bachelor of Architecture program at the University of Miami, Ontimara has already built an impressive résumé for an undergraduate. He has completed internships in New York, developed a growing interest in classical design, and found mentors who have challenged how he sees the profession. 

Among those mentors is former AIA EVP/CEO Robert Ivy, FAIA, whose name was recently given to the Architects Foundation undergraduate scholarship that has helped shape Ontimara’s education and early career. The Robert Ivy Next Generation Undergraduate Scholarship helps talented architecture students overcome financial barriers while connecting them to a broader professional community. 

Their relationship has become a continuing exchange between two architects at different stages of their careers, joined by a shared belief that talent should never be limited by circumstance. 

More than a scholarship

When Ontimara was applying to college, the question was not just where he wanted to study, but how he would make that education possible. He tracked deadlines, applications, and scholarship opportunities with the same focus he now brings to design. 

"I was applying to every single scholarship I could find," he recalls. "I knew I wanted to be at the University of Miami, and I was trying to find every possible way to make that happen." 

The Architects Foundation scholarship helped close that gap. It made Miami more attainable, but its impact reached beyond tuition. Over time, the award opened a door to Ivy and to a wider professional community invested in Ontimara’s success. 

"What became most special was learning afterward that the scholarship was sponsored by Mr. Robert," he says. "It became more than help for school. It became a relationship, and through that relationship I've been able to learn so much." 

For Ivy, that connection is central to the scholarship’s purpose. Supporting students financially matters, but so does helping students feel they belong and have people ready to encourage them along the way. 

"We need Conrad, and we need more Conrads," Ivy says. "A meaningful future for architecture depends on more voices—voices that reflect the country we are and the communities we serve." 

After decades in the field, that commitment is both professional and personal. Ivy recognizes promise in students whose paths have not always been straightforward, and he believes architecture is strongest when those students are welcomed, encouraged, and given room to thrive. 

Conversations that change careers 

Ask either Ivy or Ontimara about mentorship, and they describe pivotal conversations. 

For Ivy, the best mentors don’t offer prescriptive, canned advice. They ask thoughtful questions, share perspective, and keep you company in moments of uncertainty. 

"Having somebody you can talk to—someone you can share your dreams and hopes with in a comfortable, safe space—makes a tremendous difference," he says. "Sometimes what matters most is knowing there is someone there who has been through it and is willing to listen."

Ontimara agrees. 

He credits mentors throughout his educational and professional journey with helping him recognize openings he might not have found on his own. 

"My mentors have helped carry me from one step to the next," he says. "Each one has helped me see a little farther than I could on my own." 

One introduction led to another. A professor connected him to New York. Colleagues introduced him to organizations aligned with his interests. Each relationship expanded his sense of what was possible. 

"It isn't always about going to a mentor for an exact answer," Ontimara explains. "It's about perspective—hearing what they did in a similar moment, learning what options are possible, and being pointed toward the people or opportunities that can help you grow." 

Ivy believes this kind of network-building is one of the profession's greatest strengths. 

"We don't do this alone," he says. "Architecture may begin with individual curiosity, but it grows through relationships—through people who become shoulders to lean on, voices to talk to, and partners in imagining what comes next." 

What comes next

As Ontimara prepares for graduation, he is embracing the uncertainty and possibility that comes with the next chapter. A semester studying abroad in Rome will give him an opportunity to reflect on where architecture may take him next. 

Rather than following a fixed plan, he hopes to stay open to new experiences and unexpected opportunities, trusting that exploration can be part of building a purposeful life in the field. 

That outlook has been shaped, in part, by the people who've guided him. 

It's also one that resonates with Ivy. 

When he began his own career, the profession was confronting an economic downturn that made long-term plans difficult to hold onto. Experience taught him that careers rarely unfold in straight lines. 

"Life intervenes," Ivy says. "You begin with an idea of where you want to go, but part of the work is staying flexible enough to find meaning when the path changes—and then, if you choose, tacking back toward the dream that first drew you in." 

It's advice born less from optimism than experience. 

The architects who endure, Ivy believes, are rarely the ones who followed a flawless plan. They are the ones who remained curious enough to recognize possibility when it arrived in an unexpected form. 

For Ontimara, that lesson feels less like uncertainty than permission. 

He does not know exactly where the discipline will take him after graduation. He only knows the kind of work he hopes to make. 

"I want to create spaces that bring people together," he says. "That has always been part of my story. I know what it means to long for places of connection, and I think architecture has the power to give people that feeling of belonging." 

An ongoing conversation

As Ontimara prepares to graduate, he carries more than financial support into the next stage of his career. He carries the confidence that comes from being seen—by mentors, by colleagues, and by someone who believes architecture’s future depends on investing in people before they have fully realized their potential. 

For Ivy, that's always been the point: "Architecture should not feel mysterious or out of reach. It is a gift we can share—something that changes people's lives, makes them happy, and does good in the world." 

That's the kind of profession Ivy hopes to leave behind, and the one Ontimara is preparing to inherit. 

Olivia Hutto is senior manager, development & marketing at the Architects Foundation. 

Learn more about supporting the Next Generation Undergraduate Scholarship at ArchitectsFoundation.org.