News & Events
Architectural Technology Student Named 2008 Presidential Scholar
City Tech has awarded its prestigious Presidential Scholarship to 21-year-old architectural technology freshman Shakib Badaly.
Badaly, who graduated with a 90.6 high school average from The Beekman School in Manhattan and achieved a score of 1180 on his SATs, says he feels extremely lucky to have won the City Tech Presidential Scholarship. It will pay his tuition and fees to a maximum of $4,000 annually for four years, as long as he maintains a grade point average of 3.25 or higher (out of a possible 4.0).
Badaly’s decision to major in architectural technology now seems like a logical choice. “Both my parents are architects -- my father runs his own architecture/construction company and my mother is a planning examiner for Mount Vernon’s Building Department.”
However, neither his path from high school to college nor his choice of a major was that straightforward. After spending two semesters at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts studying computer engineering, Badaly left and went to work as a clerical assistant for the City of Mount Vernon.
At the age of 21, with his parents’ encouragement and his siblings’ example (a sister who is earning her master’s in psychology and a brother working toward a degree in civil engineering), Badaly, who learned drafting from his father, elected to enroll at New York City College of Technology. “I liked the fact that many of the professors in the architectural technology program work in the field in addition to having an academic career,” he says. “Also, City Tech’s program features more sophisticated technology than any of the traditional architecture programs.”
Badaly’s multicultural background is also a neat fit with City Tech, whose student body has been named among the most diverse of any comprehensive college in the North by U.S. News & World Report. His father, who designs high-end residences as well as low-rise commercial buildings, was born in Iran and his mother, born in France, was raised in Algeria. His is a multilingual household, with French spoken in addition to English. (His father also speaks Farsi.)
“While studying architectural technology at City Tech,” he says, “I plan to figure out what kind of architect I want to be. Currently, I’m leaning toward becoming an architect of apartment or office buildings. To me, the idea of designing a building that would be occupied by many different types of people is fascinating. It would allow me to design the dwelling or work space for a sub-community within the larger community.
“An architect,” he adds, “has to know exactly how a structure must be built and is responsible for making sure it is structurally sound and, in addition, must be able to make the structure aesthetically pleasing. He or she has the chance to combine practical knowledge with artistic values. I look forward to doing that.”
City Tech’s Presidential Scholarships are funded with charitable donations to the New York City College of Technology Foundation, Inc. Incoming freshmen who rank in the top 20 percent of their class and have a 1080 or higher SAT score are eligible to apply.
12.02.08
