Rome was not built in a day, and that is something that Malcolm Jones ’18 understands better than most.

An accomplished Florida International University alumnus, Jones is an emerging professional, an architect with a newly begun practice – MAJ Arch Design – after receiving his license this February, and he is an adjunct professor for the University of Florida’s School of Architecture graduate program called City Lab. However, when he’s not honing his professional skills, he is shaping and molding the builders of tomorrow through Black Architects in the Making (BAM) Orlando.

Jones’ transformational work in the community, which has effectively focused on exposing Black students from elementary to high school to the field of architecture, has been covered in editorials like the Orlando Voyager and the Orlando Business Journal. However, to have a better understanding of the person leading BAM Orlando to greater heights, it’s important to understand where his story began – FIU.

As a Panther, Jones was a member of FIU’s National Organization of Minority Architects Students (NOMAS) chapter. Through his involvement, Jones met Craig Aquart, a co-partner at MC Harry & Assoc. Aquart, a distinguished individual involved in the Miami organization of the American Institute of Architecture & Design and the South Florida chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (SoFloNOMA), created BAM – Miami at the Miami Center for Architecture and Design.

After two years of volunteering with BAM, Jones decided to move to Orlando upon graduating. Aquart saw promise in Jones and suggested he expand the organization’s influence in the sunshine state. In June 2018, Jones accepted the task of leading BAM Orlando.

Since then, the organization has established partnerships with NOMA Orlando, American Institute of Architects Orlando, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida, and many other organizations. As Jones puts it, “BAM has definitely increased its value every year, and I’m only excited to see what the future holds if we continue on the trajectory that we’re on.” In recognition of his work, Jones has been inducted as an Orlando Foundation for Architecture board of trustees member.

Jones cites FIU as the force behind his years of service. Moreover, he cites his membership in the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. as further driving his passion for community service.

FIU was a force behind Jones’ career, too, even though he knew early on that he wanted to pursue architecture as a profession. While studying at FIU, he “learned the practicum of design, understanding how different understandings and views of design can affect and shape the environment, and how you bring that together in a cohesive design.”

“FIU did a grand job at instilling that in us as architecture students,” he highlighted.

No matter the obstacles or challenges, Jones is certain that “there is a solution for everything,” which is a testament to the work he has accomplished both personally and as the beacon for BAM Orlando.

Despite Orlando, Central Florida and South Florida taking strides to empower diversity in architecture, there are still pressing concerns. “A lot of projects, especially if they’re government funded, require a certain percentage of your team to be minorities,” he explained. “Unfortunately, a firm will bring on a minority firm just to get the credentials and meet the criteria to win the project, but then they won’t actually have them work with them on the actual project.”

Given the challenges, BAM Orlando continues to influence change, and through the organization, Jones continues his effort to help students through various ways such as their scholarship program.

“Our scholarship goes to a graduating high school senior that has been accepted to a school of architecture anywhere in the United States, and the first recipient got a $1,000 scholarship. And this year we were able to increase it to $2,500, so that was a testament to our efforts,” Jones celebrated. “Next year, we want to make it $5,000, and so on and so forth.”

“As long as I have a breath in my body, no student will ever pay to be a part of any workshops or any activities that BAM provides. It will always be covered 100 percent.”