Recently graduated Master of Landscape Architecture student Lys Divine Ndemeye has been selected as the graduate 2020 National Olmsted Scholar and recipient of the $25,000 prize. The Landscape Architecture Foundation describes Divine as a “Multi-lingual and a leader and active volunteer in various social change organizations…[she] sees the landscape as a key cultural marker and maker that can play a powerful role in spatial decolonization and empowering marginalized communities towards cultural affirmation and identity.” Divine recently presented her graduate thesis “Bujumbura 2050”, a cross-disciplinary joint project with MArch student Yilang Kang and faculty advisor Fionn Byrne, exploring the optimal urban block typologies for meeting the socio-cultural, economic and environmental demands of the emerging city.
The LAF Olmsted Scholars Program honors students with exceptional leadership potential who are using ideas, influence, communication, service, and leadership to advance sustainable design and foster human and societal benefits.