Fanny Tong-Gong

I am very grateful to the City College of New York which awarded me a foreign student scholarship after I graduated from high school in Hong Kong. It paid for my undergraduate years of college. Since the program at the School of Architecture was a five-year program for the professional degree of bachelor's of architecture, I paid for my last year with an AIA Scholarship from the American Institute of Architects, awarded to one outstanding student from each nationally accredited architecture school. There were very few women in my class. I became good friends with them and they all did well in the program. Many of my professors were very caring and inspiring, like Professor David Guise and Professor Chu, two of my design professors. Professor Guise and I remained in contact through the years. He was always encouraging and proud of my achievements. Sadly he passed away a couple of years ago. At school I found that every subject was very new and refreshing. I came from Hong Kong and the education system there was very vigorous. I was used to very demanding classes, and I was well prepared to learn and enjoy all the classes here, even the technical ones. I graduated in four and a half years of the normal 5-year degree program. I worked diligently and I realized that working part-time and attending college full-time made me a better student. I learned the added valuable skill of time management and became a more complete student and professional for the rest of my work life. I appreciate my education from the School of Architecture of CCNY because it has enabled me to have a successful career, building many high-rise buildings globally and managing the design of several educational buildings at the new Manhattanville Campus of Columbia University. These achievements resulted in my induction as a fellow to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 2014, a prestigious honor I like to share with my school and my family.