About Making My Way: A Story of Grit and Grace
From São Paulo to the American Midwest, Damaris recounts her fight through assault, poverty, and discrimination on her ascent to becoming an award-winning architect. With raw honesty she reveals how faith and determination carried her through hardship to build a life with a sense of belonging and purpose.
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Author Bio:
Damaris Melo-Gyasi is an architect, entrepreneur, and storyteller whose life has been shaped by faith, discipline, and an unrelenting belief in possibility. Born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, she grew up in a working-class, Pentecostal household where ambition was not encouraged, resources were scarce, and obedience was expected. From an early age, she learned how to make do, speak up, and keep moving forward-even when the path was unclear. Determined to become an architect, Damaris pursued her education across borders, languages, and systems not designed for her. Her journey eventually led her to the United States, where she rebuilt her life from the ground up-earning her place in the profession, securing legal status through work, and forging a career rooted in purpose and service. Today, she leads a mission-driven architecture and design practice, working at the intersection of community development, equity, and the built environment.