NCC Jumpstarts Students’ Architectural Careers   

Northampton Community College (NCC) graduates, Jaqueline Vega and Nolla Morawiec, both credit NCC’s architecture program for fueling their passion in the field. Vega, who recently was awarded a full tuition scholarship to Jefferson University, and Morawiec, who just was awarded the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Student Award, are rising stars set for success. 

“I grew so much in those two years at NCC – as a student, as a young professional and also as a human being,” Vega said. “All of my professors made an impact on me because they didn’t just teach us about architecture, but about values in life, which I will always take with me.” Similarly, Morawiec, who attends Marywood University in Scranton, said she has applied much of the knowledge she gained at NCC to her current studies. She also values the relationships she developed at NCC with professors and students.  

“I appreciated the tight-knit community at Northampton. When I transferred, I noticed that closeness was something I missed,” Morawiec said. “Many of the professors at NCC teach there because they are passionate about giving back to the community by teaching students and inspiring them to do bigger things. That’s what a lot of people don’t expect from a community college. I appreciated the motivation that I received from the professors at Northampton. They had so much experience." 

A desire to stay close to home, allowing them to help their families, combined with NCC’s affordability and excellent reputation, first attracted both women to NCC. Morawiec’s father, the money maker of the household, died in her sophomore year of high school. So, she wanted to commute to stay close to her family and help her mother and younger brother in any way she could. 

^{Nolla Moraweic}

“I knew how expensive college was, and I was not willing to take on loans to attend college,” she said. Morawiec, who graduated from East Stroudsburg High School South in 2019 and started at NCC that fall, initially majored in biology, because she liked science and nature. After several lab courses, she realized it wasn’t the right major. She always had architecture in the back of her mind. Her father had been a contractor, and she often helped him build projects. Despite her interest, she resisted pursuing architecture because she was intimidated by the fact that it is a male-dominated field. Eventually, she realized that architecture combined her knack for building and her love of art and design, and it was her perfect career match. 

Morawiec, who lived with her mother, attended the Pocono campus until she changed her major from biology to architecture. Then, she commuted from her East Stroudsburg home to Bethlehem, where her architecture classes were taught. She received the Harold S. Campbell Award Scholarship to support students majoring in education, architecture and business programs at NCC.  

Morawiec graduated with an associate’s degree, which enabled her to work as a draftsman for an architectural firm. She received a Presidential Scholarship to attend Marywood, which accepted all of her architectural credits, allowing her to enter as a junior into the five-year program.  

The Marywood faculty selected Morawiec to receive the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Student Award, which recognizes one student from each accredited architecture school in Pennsylvania who has proven to be proficient in both academics and design and is ready to take on the challenges and responsibilities of the work environment in the architecture field.  

Like Morawiec, Vega, an Allen High School graduate who lives in Allentown with her family, wanted to commute. Unlike Morawiec, however, she knew she wanted to build things even before she understood what an architect was. Vega loved watching Bob the Builder and playing with Legos as a child. Later, she liked to play Minecraft. 

^{Jaqueline Vega}

“When I was younger, I always found construction projects interesting. I never had an interest in anything else,” Vega said. “I always liked science and math. Whenever my mother asked me what I wanted to be, I would say I wanted to be a builder.” 

Vega enrolled in NCC’s architectural program, the region’s only community college that offers an architectural associate’s degree, after completing general education courses. After graduating last May with an associate’s degree in applied science in architecture, she intended to transfer to Jefferson University, one of only seven bachelor’s programs in architecture in Pennsylvania.  

Vega decided to take a gap year instead. That decision turned out to be fortuitous. In recognition of Thomas Jefferson University’s 200th Anniversary in 2024, they offered special scholarships. On December 6, 2024, she learned that Jefferson awarded her a scholarship to cover the entire cost of tuition.  

Vega and two fellow students, now her best friends, entered a special scholarship competition recognizing Jefferson University’s 2024 bicentennial anniversary. The contest entailed creating a three-minute video based on the prompt, “How Architects Improve Lives.” In Vega’s video, The Architecture of Healing, Vega drew on her experience as an administration partner, (nursing unit clerk) by discussing how architectural design could improve patient care, staff projectivity, and job satisfaction. For example, having shorter hallways reduces nurses’ steps and enables them to keep a closer eye on their patients. Other design elements would reduce noise, allowing the patients to rest.  

Both women said their favorite professors included Joseph Biondo, Jeffrey Gendell, and Daniel Ebner, current or retired architects who shared their real-life professional experiences. Both Vega and Morawiec said they were inspired by their professors at NCC, seeing what they had achieved, how and where they went to school, and how they opened their firms. They both look forward to making their own impact on the world of architecture and design.