The quiet study inside the Vance Private Estate was filled with a soft golden light from the afternoon sun. Hundreds of opened letters sat neatly across the wide mahogany desk, each one written by a young female student whose life was changed forever by the Arthur Sterling Global Architectural Foundation.

Thousands of young students write letters of deep gratitude to the legendary Evelyn Vance.

Evelyn held the thin paper in her slender hand, reading the words of thanks over and over again. Her clear blue eyes sparkled with happy tears, and her heart felt fuller than it had ever been. The long, painful struggle of her past had turned into...