The National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS) is a place where anyone can learn more about architecture-by-architecture students. Mylinh Hoelker, the Secretary of NOMAS and a third-year Architecture student at Drury, has been a member of NOMAS for the last 2 years.  

It has been an established chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) since 2019; however, the organization is for any Drury student. “It’s open to all,” says Hoelker. “Anybody can come and be a member.” NOMAS holds meetings every 2 weeks on Thursdays.

The organization wants to give Drury students the chance to learn about architecture in a fun and interesting way. They also hold events that are either more fun-driven or more educational throughout the year. In the past few months, NOMAS has had a Minecraft event and a few Halloween events that emphasized dressing up in costumes for the chance to win a contest 

Hoelker said that last school year they held an event about discrimination in Architecture. They invited some guests to talk about how historically minorities have been limited to what they were able to do in the Architecture field.  

They have events planned for the upcoming spring semester for architecture students and for anyone who wishes to attend. “We’ll do more educational stuff like discussion panels and more fun things just for the whole school,” Hoelker adds.  

She expresses a strong desire for NOMAS to be an established organization on campus, one that everyone on campus knows about. “We’re open to everyone, even if you aren’t an architecture major and want to know more about the field or want to help support your friends,” Hoelker concludes. “Come out, come to our events, and come hang out with us.” 

Photos courtesy of NOMAS