Student Groups
AIAS members pose for a group portrait.
AIGA members carve pumpkins at an event.
Alpha Rho Chi members out working on a raised garden bed.
ArchEngage members paint mural with Dunbar elementary students.
Architecture School Council members show off newly printed Sam Fox shirts.
Women in Architecture and Design work together at an event.
Students have numerous opportunities to make their mark on campus. Below are a list of student groups and student chapters of professional organizations based out of the Sam Fox School, along with link to other opportunities across campus. If you spot a group missing from this list, please contact samfoxschool@wustl.edu.
The professional fraternity for architecture and the allied arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
Mission Statement: Our organization unites men and women for the purpose of fellowship and lifelong friendships and our mutual interest in professional development. This is exemplified by the fraternity’s motto: Fidelitas, Amor et Artes or “Fidelity and Love of the Arts.” The Philon chapter at Washington University in St. Louis seeks to provide a supportive community for students at the Sam Fox School, and allow opportunities to connect with alumni, faculty and professionals with similar backgrounds in design. Although our members and alumni mainly study and practice within the architecture field, we welcome students across all disciplines including, but not limited to, communication design, engineering, and business etc. We are committed to striving for excellence in our service to all of those who have a stake in Alpha Rho Chi’s success: our profession, universities, volunteers, members, and society.
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Stitelman, jstitelman@wustl.edu
2024-25 Executive Board
Maddix Cradlebaugh
Mission Statement: The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) is an independent, nonprofit, student-run organization dedicated to advancing leadership, design, and service among architecture students.
Contact: samfox-aias@email.wustl.edu
Faculty Advisor: Don Koster, dkoster@wustl.edu
2024-25 Executive Board:
Chapter President: Jiahe Jin
Vice President: Vinay Kumar Talla
Freedom by Design Director: Miso Lee
Secretary: Dylan Hunt
Treasurer - Xinyu Rain Zhao
Event Marketer: Flora Chen
Event Coordinator: Charlotte Zhang
NCARB Student Licensing Advisor: Cheyenne Granahan
Graduate Representative: Reece Lash
Undergraduate Representative: Lavina Grzymajlo
Undergraduate Representative: Sophia Maldonado
Undergraduate Representative: Ericka Yanou
Follow WashU AIAS on Instagram or check out the national AIAS Website.
Email: ASLA@samfox.wustl.edu
Faculty Advisor: Eric Ellingsen, eric.ellingsen@wustl.edu
Operational Advisor: Ellen Bailey, ebailey@wustl.edu
2024-25 Officers:
Kaitlin Sampson, president
Amanda Kesler, treasurer
Justina Starrad, secretary
Lukas Baik, first-year representative
Mission Statement: ArchEngage connects students with faculty, practicing professionals, and local community members to collaborate on pro-bono design-build projects for communities in St. Louis. Through these projects, we intend to give WashU students the opportunity to engage with the design process in a way that benefits both the WashU community and the greater St. Louis community at large.
Contact: archengagewashu@gmail.com
2024-25 Executive Board:
Oscar Kreft
Follow ArchEngage on WUGO
Mission Statement: By advocating for the academic, social, and resource needs of its constituents, the Architecture School Council aims to provide the best possible experience for all undergraduate architecture students.
Faculty Advisor: Pablo Moyano, moyano@wustl.edu
Staff Advisor: Livia Xandersmith
Co-President: Phoebe Radke and Frances Bobbitt
Vice President: Mary Kate Sullenberger
Treasurer: Sarah You
Networking Chair: Holy Kim
Advocacy Chair: Grace Chung
Events Chair- Erika Yanou
Mission Statement: Art Council promotes artwork on and off campus, organizing events to showcase student and faculty work as well as serving as a bridge between art students and Sam Fox faculty and administrators. We support dialogue and communication between main campus and the art school, between architects and artists, and between different majors and years. Students from all school are welcome.
Faculty Advisor: Becca Leffell Koren, rleffell@wustl.edu
Staff Advisor: Livia Xandersmith
President: Sophie Floyd
Vice President: Elliott Andrew
Secretary: Grace Demba
Treasurer: Rachel Gwon
Director of Social Media: Minjung Song
Director of Design: Christine Jung
Faculty Advisor: Rebecca Leffell Koren
Email: artcouncil@su.wustl.edu
Mission Statement: As the Washington University in St. Louis chapter of AIGA national, we strive to foster the design community on campus by providing social, educational (skill-learning), and professional opportunities to students passionate about design and illustration. We also act as a resource for campus at large by offering workshops, design services, and student-designed goods. Our goal is to connect WashU student designers and illustrators to each other, main campus, and the larger national design community.
Contact: washuaiga@gmail.com
Faculty Advisor: Amy Auman
Co-Presidents: Sean Brosnahan and Sophia Marlin
Email: GAC@samfox.wustl.edu
2023-24 Officers
Abraham Diaz, president
Holly Reising, vice president
Madeline LaPointe, treasurer
Nour Ziada, academic and professional development chair
Patrick Fitzgerald and Grace Whittington, student life chairs
Adithya Ayyappan, international student life chair
Faculty Advisor: Wyly Brown wyly@wustl.edu
Operational Advisor: Ellen Bailey, ebailey@wustl.edu
The purpose of the Graduate Art Organization (GAO) is the advancement of students’ interests and welfare, and to aid in the facilitation of excellence in academic, professional, and social pursuits and interactions. This includes but is not limited to providing a regular forum for student discussion of academic issues and to be a liaison to the administration. The GAO shall represent all students pursuing a graduate degree in fine arts and in illustration and visual culture within the Sam Fox School and who are in good standing with the University.
Staff advisor: Becky Flores
2023-24 Officers:
Samantha Neu, co-president
Cora Trout, co-president
Emily Elhoffer, secretary
Elaine Chai, treasurer
This group is for Sam Fox School students, staff, and faculty who identify within the LGBTQ+ community, encompassing the many identities that fall under this umbrella.
Sam Fox Marketplace
A student-run organization that’s redesigning the way design is taught.
Mission Statement: Creativity should not come at the cost of people or the planet. We are committed to fostering sustainability, equity, and a sense of community through the lens of material usage and student work in the Sam Fox School. By addressing the life cycle of materials – from acquisition, to utilization, to completion of projects – we are promoting environmental stewardship and bringing students a greater sense of agency over the work they produce.
Staff Advisor: Livia Xandersmith
President: Mona Li
Vice President: Arielle Meisel
Director of Event Planning: Emory Marcuson
Director of Social Media: Theresa Doan
The mission of the program is to foster professional and personal relationships among undergraduate students in the College of Art and the College of Architecture. Through both one-on-one relationships and group events, we strive to promote student health and well-being, studio culture, and professional and academic development.
We provide opportunities for mentors and mentees to engage with each other as well as explore what the Sam Fox community has to offer. Activities range from events organized by the Peer Mentoring Program to those held by other organizations in the Sam Fox School.
Faculty advisor: John Early, johne@wustl.edu
Learn more on the Peer Mentoring Program page of the Sam Fox School intranet.
This group is for Sam Fox School students, staff, and faculty who identify broadly within the Asian diaspora, including Asian, Pacific Islander, Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and more.
The Sam Fox School Black Student Network at Washington University in St. Louis is an undergraduate and graduate student organization dedicated to uplifting and supporting the creative voices and members of Black students on campus and beyond. They seek to bring together black creatives on campus for the purpose of social, emotional, academic, and professional support.
President: Chelcie Crutch
Contact: sfsblackstudentsofficial@gmail.com
This student group is currently inactive, if you are interested in reviving this group please contact Livia Xandersmith at livia.xandersmith@wustl.edu.
Women in Architecture and Design (WIAD) is an educational advocacy organization based at WashU that is dedicated to making known the need for women architects by encouraging gender equality in the field of architecture and design.
Mission Statement: WIAD focuses on advocating for diversity in the Design and Architecture fields. Our group is a great way to start discussions about things that need to change in the Design fields, and a wonderful networking opportunity that allows you to learn directly from faculty, firms and each other. Specifically, our objectives are:
- To inform young women, students, faculty, administration and the public in general of the qualifications and achievements of women architects and designers and the opportunities open to them.
- Aid Architecture and Design students in professional development at all levels through the organization of lectures, networking and mentorship within the field of architecture and design.
- Increase equality and raise awareness of bias and inclusion within the Sam Fox school.
- Act as an intermediary between Architecture and Design students and the Sam Fox administration to promote an environment of equality and respect within the Sam Fox school.
- To encourage women Architecture and Design students to attain high levels of educational and professional achievement.
Faculty Advisors: Alexandria Mei (amei@wustl.edu) and Kelley Van Dyck Murphy (kelleyv@wustl.edu)
Mission Statement: WUSTL NOMA is the student branch of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). NOMA’s mission is to champion diversity within the design profession by promoting excellence, community engagement, and the professional development of its members.
Contact: wustlnoma@gmail.com
Faculty Advisor: Melisa Betts, melisa@wustl.edu
2024-25 Executive Board:
Co-Presidents: Daylin Kennedy and Sarah Monreal Aviles
Follow WUSTL NOMA on Instagram or check out the national NOMAS Website.