A Navy Sailor and a Climate Architect: Our 2025 Winners

Last fall, 632 college students applied for the first Build and Make Scholarship. Two of them won, and on paper they have almost nothing in common. One is an architect in Miami who wants to build with hemp in hurricane country. The other is a U.S. Navy sailor finishing ten years of active duty and studying to run construction projects.

Look closer and they are after the same thing. Both want to build what other people rely on, and to build it better than it's built today. That is exactly who this scholarship is for.

Dajia Dominguez: designing for the coast that's coming

Dajia earned her bachelor's at Parsons School of Design in New York and is now in a demanding dual program at the University of Miami: a Master of Architecture and a Master of Real Estate Development and Urbanism. She's learning to design the building and to understand the money, zoning and development work that decides whether it ever gets built.

Her research focus is hempcrete, a building material made from the woody core of the hemp plant. It stores carbon instead of emitting it, insulates well, gets stronger over time, and resists the mold and humidity that wear down so many buildings in coastal climates. Dajia wants to test it in tropical conditions, where extreme weather and rising seas are turning "how do we build here?" into an urgent question.

Her student projects have ranged from intergenerational public housing to turning parking lots into green space. Outside the studio she volunteered with ArcScholars, a nonprofit that introduces high-school students from underrepresented communities to architecture, leading design workshops and helping them sketch and model their own ideas. Her long-term plan is to start a design firm focused on buildings that are affordable, climate-resilient and built for the communities that live in them.

"I hope to influence not just what we build, or how, but who we build it for."

Dajia Dominguez, from her scholarship essay

Dajia is also a working artist, and she sent us a thank-you video after she won. Here it is:

Tonya Chaney: from ten years in the Navy to the job site

Tonya grew up in a military family, the middle of five kids, and then served a decade of active duty in the U.S. Navy. Tonya is studying construction management at Purdue University Global while still in uniform, carrying a 4.0 GPA, and is working toward a master's in operations and construction management ahead of the move back to civilian life.

The goal is project management: the person who takes a set of drawings, a budget, a schedule and a crew and turns them into a finished building. Ten years in the Navy is strong preparation for it. That's where Tonya learned to plan under pressure, keep a team moving, and take responsibility for the outcome. Off duty, Tonya coaches youth soccer and has volunteered at youth centers, the same instinct to lead people rather than just manage tasks.

Military tuition assistance got Tonya started, but it won't last through graduate school. In a thank-you letter to us, Tonya explained what the award is for: easing the cost of graduate school so the focus can stay on studying and preparing for civilian life, and then putting "my military experience and new education to create a meaningful impact in the construction and manufacturing industries."

"Knowing that organizations like Eldorado Tools Inc. are invested in the growth of future professionals motivates me to give back to others in the same way."

Tonya Chaney, from a thank-you letter to Eldorado Tools

Why we picked two people this different

Construction and manufacturing need both kinds of people. They need designers who think fifty years ahead about how a building will stand up to its climate. And they need leaders who can get a crew, a budget and a schedule across the finish line. Dajia and Tonya are both.

We weigh construction and manufacturing applicants equally, and we look past the field of study to the essay: what the student wants to build, who it's for, and what they've already done about it. Both winners answered that with a track record, not just a plan.

We have sold drill bits and cutting tools to contractors, fabricators and installers for over thirty years. The people who will be buying tools, running crews and designing buildings in 2040 are in classrooms right now. This scholarship is our way of betting on them early.

"I look forward to growing both as an artist and a builder, and I hope one day to help others as you have helped me."

Dajia Dominguez, from a thank-you letter to Eldorado Tools

The 2026 round is open: $2,000 for two students

This round we doubled the award: $2,000 in total, $1,000 each for two winners. Any undergraduate, graduate or doctoral student at an accredited U.S. institution who is studying construction or manufacturing can apply. That includes construction management, civil engineering, architecture and building science, surveying, and manufacturing, industrial, mechanical and materials engineering. Robotics, supply chain, project management, operations-focused business and trades administration students are welcome too.

• Deadline: November 14, 2026
• Winners announced: December 15, 2026
• How to apply: one essay on Bold.org about how your field will shape your career, the impact you want to make, and how the scholarship will help
• Applied last year? You're welcome to apply again

Apply on Bold.org or read the full details on The Build and Make Scholarship page.

Congratulations again, Dajia and Tonya. We can't wait to see what you build.