Announcing our 2025-26 Public History Fellows and Historic Preservation Scholars

This fall, the UVA School of Architecture is pleased to announce the 2025–26 Public History Fellows and Historic Preservation Scholars, recognizing graduate students who demonstrate exceptional promise in advancing the study, preservation, and public interpretation of historic sites and cultural landscapes.

PUBLIC HISTORY FELLOWS

Launched in fall 2024 by the Department of Architectural History, the Public History Fellowship equips incoming Master of Architectural History (MArH) students with resources, training, and immersive experiences to reimagine how historic sites engage the public. Fellows undertake paid summer internships at historic sites across Virginia, develop public programming, and receive ongoing support for research and community engagement. The program aims to bring new energy and dynamism to sites ranging from house museums and main streets to courthouse squares and former plantation landscapes, helping a new generation of graduate students bring often-overlooked histories and multiple perspectives to life.
 

STINA BERTHOLD (MARH '27)

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With a strong foundation in both geography and sociology, Stina Berthold brings an interdisciplinary lens to architectural history. A 2023 graduate of Colorado State University, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Geography and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, where her capstone research explored prison rodeos as sites of tourism and their role in shaping public narratives about the American South.

After graduation, Berthold deepened her skills in archival research while working for Pitzman’s Co. of Land Surveyors, a St. Louis-based firm founded in 1859. There, she engaged with historic surveying records from the 19th and 20th centuries—an experience that sparked her interest in the embodied and reflected histories of landscapes. Berthold sees Virginia’s abundant cultural sites as an ideal setting to continue this line of inquiry.

Reflecting on the opportunity, Berthold shared that she is honored to have been selected as a Public History Fellow and is excited to merge her archival expertise with a public-facing approach to architectural history. “I hope to further my understanding of the geographies of historical memories through the Master’s in Architectural History program,” she said. “The interdisciplinary nature of architectural history, the supportive atmosphere of the A-School, and the rich landscapes of Charlottesville and beyond provide the perfect environment for me to grow as a scholar.”


HANNAH DINNING (MARH '27)

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For Hannah Dinning, the overlooked histories of children’s environments offer fertile ground for research and preservation. A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design with a BA in Architectural History, she began her studies investigating 18th- and 19th-century playspaces, ultimately discovering that few preservation efforts have been dedicated to these sites. This realization inspired her to pursue both the MArH degree and the Historic Preservation Certificate at UVA.

Her professional experience at the Savannah Municipal Archives, working on the Municipal Slavery Research Project further shaped her skills as a researcher and historian. There, she worked closely with archival collections, conducting research on municipal building projects that were completed by enslaved laborers from 1810 to 1866. Dinning is particularly interested in combining her archival skills with advanced digital technologies, a pairing she believes can help reveal and preserve the material and social histories of children’s spaces.

As both a Public History Fellow and a Historic Preservation Kutscha Scholar, Dinning is most looking forward to the new academic and collaborative opportunities that the Architectural History Department encourages. “Serving as a fellow, I am excited to continue my research into the development and impact of childhood spaces, like playrooms and nurseries,” she shared. “I am eager to explore how digital tools and the video game industry can help to modernize preservation efforts.”
 

ADAN YOUNGBLOOD (MARH '27)

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Adan Youngblood's path to architectural history began in design studios but came into focus through the stories of historic places. While pursuing her Bachelor of Architecture at Auburn University, she found her greatest sense of purpose in researching and sharing the histories of the built environment. Whether studying adaptive reuse projects in Auburn University's Architecture + Interior Architecture dual-degree program or documenting Alabama’s Tankersley Rosenwald School, Youngblood was drawn to the ways historic buildings reveal underrepresented narratives and community resilience.

Her commitment to preservation deepened during a summer with the Historic American Buildings Survey, where she created documentation drawings for Maryland’s Beatty-Cramer House, a rare Dutch timber-framed landmark. The knowledge that her work would live on in the Library of Congress reinforced her passion for safeguarding stories embedded in the built environment.

Now a first-year Master of Architectural History student at UVA, Youngblood is continuing this trajectory through the Public History Fellowship. She hopes to merge her background in design with new opportunities to engage the public at historic sites across Virginia. “Historic places serve as a living record of our culture and values through time,” she reflects. “Much like a book, we can read into them to learn stories from the past.”

HISTORIC PRESERVATION SCHOLARS

The Historic Preservation Scholarships, including the J.L. and J.J. Kelly Scholarship and the Peter R. Kutscha Endowed Memorial Scholarship, provide financial support for graduate students pursuing the School of Architecture's Historic Preservation Certificate. Open to all master’s students across the School’s disciplines, the scholarships honor students committed to the thoughtful preservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures and landscapes.

DEMETRA KARRES (M.ARCH '27), KELLY SCHOLAR

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Bringing with her a deep appreciation for the built environment, Demetra Karres begins her Master of Architecture studies at UVA with a strong foundation in historic preservation. She earned a BA in Architecture from Clemson University and developed a particular interest in preservation during her time studying and working in Charleston, South Carolina. There, she became fascinated with brick detailing on historic buildings and the cultural significance of masonry traditions in the Lowcountry.

Her professional experience includes an internship with an architecture firm that specialized in historic preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse. Projects such as documenting an 1870s freedman’s cottage impressed upon her the importance of careful research and contextual understanding when approaching preservation work. These experiences inspired her to pursue specialized training at UVA through the Historic Preservation Certificate.

Reflecting on her academic goals, Karres noted, “I am drawn to the opportunity to engage with UVA’s distinctive architectural setting, where a legacy of history provides a foundation for specialized training in preservation. I hope to cultivate designs that both respect cultural significance and connect strongly to society, scholarship, and practice.”

SONNY WAY (M.ARCH '28), KELLY SCHOLAR

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Entering the Master of Architecture program with a BA in Political Science from the University of South Carolina, Sonny Way brings a unique perspective that blends design with cultural and historical analysis. She describes her first weeks at UVA as “energizing,” noting the breadth of opportunities to learn from faculty and peers alike.

Way’s reflections on preservation reveal a deeply humanistic approach. In her view, buildings are not only physical structures but also vessels of memory and meaning. She points to sites such as Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church and the Chalmers Street Slave Mart as places where architecture has become entwined with stories of resilience, mourning, and resistance. “Preservation honors stories, memory, and meaning,” she shared. “Its power to merge the emotional with the physical is what draws me to it.”

Through her studies, Way hopes to continue exploring preservation as both a symbolic and practical act—one that sustains the cultural narratives embedded within architecture while allowing for thoughtful transformation over time.

CORBIN POYER (MUEP '27), KUTSCHA SCHOLAR

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For Virginia native Corbin Poyer, preservation has long been part of her life. Growing up in a family of preservationists, she developed a strong sense of stewardship for the state’s historic and cultural resources. She went on to earn a BA in Political Science and Philosophy: Pre-Law from the University of Mary Washington, where she honed her analytical and advocacy skills. Now, as a Master of Urban + Environmental Planning student at UVA, Poyer is committed to uniting her background in service and policy with a passion for preservation.

She is particularly motivated by the ways preservation can highlight underrepresented histories while also supporting the present needs of communities. “Finding ways to preserve spaces for contemporary use and even being able to highlight hidden or overlooked aspects of a community is a complex task,” she shared. “But it’s one that excites me, and I look forward to collaborating with like-minded peers to find innovative solutions.”

Through the Kutscha Scholarship, Poyer hopes to further develop as a leader and advocate in planning and preservation, ensuring that communities can both honor their pasts and thrive into the future.

HANNAH DINNING (MARH '27), KUTSCHA SCHOLAR

In addition to her role as a Public History Fellow, Hannah Dinning (pictured above) has been named a Historic Preservation Kutscha Scholar. Her commitment to illuminating overlooked aspects of architectural history—particularly children’s experiences of historic spaces—demonstrates the power of preservation to expand cultural narratives.

We also congratulate returning School of Architecture students Augustin Cruz (MArH ’26), Julia Droof (MArch ’26), Sakshi Soni (MArH ’26), and Anne Townsend (MArch ’27), who were also awarded the Kutscha Scholarship in Historic Preservation. Their continued dedication to preservation and public history underscores the School’s commitment to cultivating the next generation of thoughtful, engaged scholars and practitioners.