Young Alumni Spotlight
Ingrid Gonzalez Featherston, who graduated from Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2012, currently lives in Austin, Texas and is pursuing a rewarding career as a senior design architect for Matt Fajkus Architecture. In her role, she manages collaborative teams through each phase of the design process before delivering final concepts to clients for approval and construction.
Gonzalez Featherston is active in the Austin community and aims to promote the cultivation of future leaders. She is a member of the ACE Mentor Program, where she mentors high school students and encourages them to pursue their own careers in design and construction. The 2012 alumna is also part of the Austin Chapter’s American Institute of Architects (AIA) as well as the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) of Central Texas, where she has organized free panels and discussions regarding Austin’s Affordable Housing Crisis and the future of housing access in Central Texas for Austin Design Week.
Gonzalez Featherston credits Mississippi State as the foundation of her career. “The relationships that were formed during my time as a student in the School of Architecture are bonds of a lifetime. The school, professors and my peers were able to give me the confidence to lead with conviction and to believe in the power of design to create positive change,” said Gonzalez Featherston. “This has greatly influenced my work in the field of architecture and also motivates me to help create the organizations we need to cultivate and mentor more young, aspiring designers and architects.”
Outside of work and volunteering, Gonzalez Featherston enjoys spending time with her husband, Robert Featherston, and two sons, Luca and Mateo, as they work on renovation projects for their own home.
