Taliilagi Aumavae (left), Ron Janus Acob (center), and Anthony Westwolf (right).
Three students in the College of the Arts have been selected as AFO Scholars for 2025 by the Architectural Foundation of Oregon (AFO).
Ron Janus Acob, Master of Architecture student, was named the 2025 Hatfield Scholar. The Hatfield Architectural Award is a $5,000 scholarship given each year to an undergraduate or graduate student in the field of architecture, attending either the University of Oregon or Portland State University, who demonstrates a commitment to community service.
“The Hatfield Scholarship is an incredible opportunity to continue advancing my goals of becoming a licensed architecture professional,” he wrote, “It also allows me to give back—sharing this gift with my community and helping uplift others along the way.”
The AFO selected Ron Janus Acob as the recipient of this year’s award in recognition of his community engagement initiatives focusing on the intersection of architecture, community-based design, and spatial justice. As a student at PSU’s School of Architecture, he has been closely involved with the school’s Center for Public Interest Design (CPID). Most recently, he worked on the CPID’s new limited podcast series, “The Oak Savanna and ITECK Center: The Voices at the Intersection of Indigenous Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge and Architecture.”
“It was through my work as a student assistant with the CPID that I discovered a deeper focus for my career,” he wrote. “I was exposed to an alternative approach to traditional architecture, one that reshaped my perspective on design practice. Public interest design emphasized a community-based approach, where knowledge exchange and collective decision-making among diverse users and stakeholders are central. This focus aligned perfectly with my desire to create inclusive spaces for all.”
The 2025 Tsagaglalal (She Who Watches) Scholarships were awarded to Taliilagi Aumavae, Art + Design undergraduate, and Anthony Westwolf, Architecture undergraduate. The renewable $10,000 Tsagaglalal scholarship, established in honor of Native American artist Lillian Pitt, is awarded each year to Native American, Alaskan Native, and Hawaiian Native non-graduating students pursuing a degree in Art or Architecture at Portland State University.
Taliilagi Aumavae is pursuing a degree in Art + Design and a minor in Graphic Design. She received the 2025 Tsagaglalal Scholarship in recognition of her dedication to seeking deeper connections with her Samoan heritage and incorporating her heritage into her practice. “As I continue to work on my skills and build my portfolio,” she wrote, “I hope to bring proper representation to western media of the Pacific Islands and its people while also learning more about my own culture.”
Anthony Westwolf, Amskapi Pikuni and enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation, is pursuing a degree in Architecture, and he aspires to design spaces with the needs and desires of Indigenous communities in mind. “I want to be part of the solution by designing spaces that are not only functional but also culturally meaningful,” he wrote. “My long-term goal is to collaborate with Indigenous communities to create spaces that truly reflect their needs and traditions.”
The Architectural Foundation of Oregon is a non-profit organization that works to promote architectural excellence. Their goal is to support and increase awareness of how architectural design impacts quality of life. Each year they award several scholarships to students they recognize for contributing diverse voices in the field of architecture.