Kathryn Leblanc 

Kathryn LeBlanc, a career storyteller, and curator of curious thoughts are inspired by strangeness in life and design.

LeBlanc is an Honors College student currently enrolled in the Master of Architecture Accelerated program at Florida International University. She has an anticipated graduation date of spring 2023. LeBlanc is a Presidential Premier Merit Scholarship recipient, has been on the Dean’s List consecutively since beginning her studies at FIU in 2017, and boasts a graduate GPA of 3.830.

LeBlanc is a member of the American Institute of Architecture Students and has volunteered at the Honors College Edge Lab Makerspace, helping students with project ideation and fabrication. In the summer of 2020, LeBlanc, an advocate for diversity and inclusion, spearheaded an initiative to promote open communication between students and faculty. Working with colleagues, LeBlanc helped found the School of Architecture Student Committee. Through regular meetings with department chairs, professors, and students, visible changes were made to promote representation and equal treatment within the School of Architecture.

LeBlanc interned for the Air Force Civilian Services in 2021. Working at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL) in New Jersey, she was involved in many high-priority projects. One such project was a $3 million renovation to the 87^th Civil Engineering Group executive suite, for which she selected all interior finishes and presented to the Deputy Group Commander. LeBlanc also designed the interior finishes of a $940K base fitness center locker room renovation. She took part in the design of a high visibility project to incorporate a S.T.E.M. learning center into the base library, connecting JBMDL with the wider community.

LeBlanc ventured over to the green side for a landscape architecture exhibition with the WoLand Foundation Inc., launched in Wynwood during Art Basel 2019. She has also researched the causes of bird death on FIU’s campus and proposed solutions during the 2018 FIU Undergraduate Research Fair. While still in high school, LeBlanc participated in a design charette, URBANFRAME, through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This involved observing, interviewing, designing, prototyping, and finally, implementing a design that subconsciously guided “distracted walkers” in Boston’s Central Square.

LeBlanc has participated in two noteworthy international projects and another internship, this one under a general contractor.  In December 2021, her installation design was included in the exhibition Interpretation 6: Pulsating Mies/Biomorphic Machines at Mies van der Rohe’s Villa Tugendhat in the Czech Republic. Summer 2020, her work with X-Urban Construction, involved projects to revitalize the historic downtown of Lake Placid, Florida. In spring 2021, LeBlanc competed in an architecture competition to design two preschools in Ethiopia. A project that pushed her to create for ways of life, education, and culture different from anything she had experienced personally.

LeBlanc is proficient in many platforms and enjoys taking on the challenge of exploring non-conventional design tools.  LeBlanc plans to pursue licensing as an architect after graduation. Her hope is that future and current work will both encourage whimsy and bring depth to the lives of anyone who encounters it.