Architecture Alumna Melissa Nieves Wins AIA Service Award, Shares Her Journey

New Jersey Institute of Technology alumna Melissa Nieves ’19 is the recipient of the American Institute of Architects New Jersey 2022 Service Award. Nieves, associate architect for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, earned her master’s in architecture with a concentration in infrastructure planning. 

“Melissa has had the pleasure of becoming a leader and mentor inside and outside her workplace. She embodies what it means to be an advocate and representative for diversity and mentorship within the profession,” said the AIA.

As an emerging professional, Nieves is deeply engaged in bettering the profession and mentoring minority students. For Nieves, the award is not about recognition for all the things she does, but more about representation, motivation and hope to students whom she is mentoring. 

“I had a great support group at NJIT, and now I want to give back and support students, drawing from my own experience,” said Nieves, who was a member of NJIT's Albert Dorman Honors College. “I'm going to show another Latina or anyone from any background that they can succeed too.”

A little bit different.

Since high school, Nieves had an interest in architecture, though she wasn’t quite sure specifically what pulled her into the field. She took an architecture elective class senior year but quickly found out it was geared toward the engineering side of architecture.

“When I applied to architecture school, I was kind of gambling on whether this was something that I was interested in and something that I wanted to do. I still did not know what architecture was. I didn't have the opportunities to find out, or the explanations of what architecture is,” Nieves said.

Her architecture education path was not straightforward, but rather “a little bit different” and “challenging.” Nieves started out at a community college after not initially getting into NJIT. She pushed forward and after receiving her associate degree, joined NJIT’s Hillier School of Architecture and Design. 

She immediately felt like she was behind, since her exposure to technology was relatively low, or in some cases, nonexistent.

“I just didn't have advantages as compared to other students that were coming into architecture school. I grew up in poverty. I didn't have access to technology, which was at the time very foreign to me. I was starting from the very beginning in every subject, and I had to work ten times harder just to be average,” said Nieves. 

I wanted to be among the best.

Her work ethic helped her quickly discover her creative side and began to flourish, with HCAD professors ensuring that every opportunity and resource was understood and made available.

“I didn't just want to keep up, I wanted to be among the best. I had to work even harder, architecture school is tough. I think the constant perseverance got me through it all – being open to constantly learning and improving myself and putting the time in. It doesn't really matter how many challenges you have, it's more about what you are going to do to get over them, because nothing comes easy to anyone,” said Nieves.

Nieves gives a lot of credit to Hillier College and NJIT for how well she was prepared to enter the field of architecture. The college offered the perfect balance between design and technical courses. 

“I’ve got the best of both worlds: I developed skill on the design side, but I also learned the technical aspect of the profession. I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. Many architecture schools tend to be either design-heavy, or too technical.

“I consider the faculty at Hiller College my second family. They did so much for me outside of class in terms of life lessons. When in school, especially college, one should take every opportunity to learn things beyond the courses offered, things that the textbooks won't teach you. I felt like NJIT was able to provide that extra learning aspect and taught me more than just what was in the textbooks,” Nieves said.

The less than 1%

Now as a professional, Nieves is dealing with new challenges, such as passing the state exams to become a licensed architect. As she points out, the challenge is even greater because she feels the pressure of being a Latina. Among the licensed architects nationwide, Latinas account for less than 1%. 

“Sometimes I'm the only Latina in the room, the only Hispanic, and I have to get through these challenges of feeling uncomfortable, representing the next generation of architects,” said Nieves. 

The oneness, while occasionally uncomfortable, also helps her feel empowered knowing that she is given an opportunity to express her culture, as well as embrace other people's cultures. Nieves is part of the National Organization of Minority Architects, and welcomes the opportunities she has to express herself through her work.

As she explains, many Latinos don't get into architecture because they feel like they stick out. There are some aspects of being a Latina that don't seem to be conducive to a professional path in architecture.

“We take a lot of responsibility in our private life that may not pair up with the demands of architectural life. Sometimes we feel like we need to choose one or the other,” said Nieves. “We're very family oriented. We're very big on getting together and celebrating holidays. Sometimes we feel like we have to choose profession over other events in our life; it's just how our culture is.”

Changing the Narrative

While internal forces may be working to prevent widespread Hispanic takeup of architecture, Nieves notices external forces are also discouraging.

“For those of us whose first language is Spanish, being in an office setting, sometimes feels like people see us as less knowledgeable or less credible. But even when there is a language barrier that should not define us, or suggest that we know less or can't do the job right. We sometimes feel like we have to force ourselves to walk and talk a certain way to be able to be trusted or to be acknowledged,” Nieves said.

To combat this, she joined a group of Latina architects who started a nonprofit organization called Arquitina with a mission “to reach above and beyond the 1% mark of licensed Latina architects in the United States while creating equitable and inclusive opportunities in the architectural profession.” The group is identifying what about architecture that doesn't mesh with Latin culture, and how to remedy these issues.

As a mentor, Nieves gives this advice to students: “Don't give up. Get through it. It's going to be hard. Everything's going to be hard no matter what you pursue, but in the end it's worth the effort. You just need to find the support system to help you get through it.”