Exploring career options: A high school designers perspective

Exploring career options: A high school designers perspective

by | Dec 22, 2023 | Leadership, Uncategorized

For the past 10 years or so, our firm has had high school students, and occasionally college students, here at our office to job shadow for a semester, receiving a class credit. (Check out more of their stories at the bottom of this blog). Each student comes into the experience with different goals and motivations. Some are interested in ruling out architecture as a career and others are looking to expand their knowledge of an architectural career prior to starting college. With each, we adapt their experience as needed to help them achieve their goals. 

Chloe joined us this past semester. She was already confident that she wanted a career in design with a preference for interior design, so we set up a program to allow her to meet with Jarod, our interior designer, and others in the community with an interior design background. While at the office, we encouraged her to learn SketchUp by giving her a house design project to work on. 

The design project is never the important part of the learning experience, it is the questions generated through the design process. Our student job shadow candidates learn how buildings operate, how the industry works, how big a 2 x 4 actually is, what kind of questions to ask when designing, and get to see how we do it. We have had some students go through the process to realize that it was not the right career for them and some that have embraced the profession and confirmed their future plans. Below you will find Chloe’s summary of her experience.

SketchUp rendering of interior layout.

My name is Chloe Emurian, and I am a senior at Buffalo Gap High School. I have always been interested in the design of buildings, so I was placed at Gaines Group Architects with the hopes that I could find just where my passion for design falls, whether that be pursuing a major in architecture or interior design.

Starting out, my mentor, Charles Hendricks, asked me what I needed from the experience to figure out my future plans. He set up meetings with local interior designers so I could learn more about what they do each day and allowed me to attend meetings with him. He also invited me into classes at his office covering different architectural topics. Additionally, I was assigned a project to design a house using SketchUp (a design software used in many architectural and interior design firms). I learned a lot about the software (and the limitations of that software) I was using and a lot about the techniques to design a house. I am hoping as I pursue my degree, I will be able to complete my in-progress house design project. During my time at the firm I learned everything from wall thickness to how big each room should comfortably be, to even a little bit of the structural design required for stairs, second floors, and roofs.

Charles set up visits with interior designers at firms and businesses such as LDD Blueline, Dovetail Cabinetry, and more where I was able to ask designers questions about their careers, as well as talk to them about what they wish they would have known before college and how they got to where they are today.

I want to take a little bit of time to talk about an interview we were assigned as mentorship students. We were asked to interview our mentor and ask specific questions, and I got the opportunity to talk to the interior designer at The Gaines Group, Jarod. His knowledge of design and his love for his job inspired me in great ways. He graduated from the same college I am going to, Liberty University, with the same degree I am going to pursue, and his insight on that program as well as interior design will help shape me into the designer I want to be. This assignment was by far my favorite.

With all the stress of college that my senior year brought, I am so beyond thankful that I was placed at a firm that solidified both my college decision and my career interest. After my mentorship experience, I decided that I am going to pursue a major in interior design at Liberty University. Finally, mentorship has taught me that I am capable of way more than I ever imagined. My mentor has done an amazing job helping me realize how successful I can be; he has shown me ways that I can begin to make a name for myself now by setting up my own personal website and blog. His encouragement and confidence in me have boosted my confidence in achieving my dreams. I am beyond thankful for the opportunities that mentorship presented me, and I can’t wait to see how my future unfolds because of it!

We strongly believe that mentorship is a key part of being a Citizen Architect. Giving back to future generations through On the Road Collaborative or Massanutten Technical Center Summer Academy are keys to this. We also love when we are able to host a student in our office just for a few hours or an entire semester, so please reach out if you know a student who might be interested.

Blogs from previous Job Shadowing Students:

Job shadowing virtually from the university of miami

Job shadowing with gaines group

Learn how job shadowing informs career path

High school students should job shadow

A story of job shadowing during a pandemic

Why you should job shadow while still in high school #futurearchitect

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Exploring a career in architecture: a students perspective

A story of career development by a blue ridge community college student

A story of mentoring in architecture

Finding Balance in Architecture School

Finding Balance in Architecture School

by | Nov 10, 2023 | architecture, Leadership, Uncategorized

By Aliyah D. White.

 

Now that I have earned my B.S. in architecture, I want to shed some light on the effect such a rigorous academic program can have on student health and offer some tips that helped me find balance in school. Architecture itself has been shown to have the capacity to positively affect mental health. However, being in school for it is a completely different story. During my time in school, I knew plenty of students who would work themselves sick in sustained periods of barely sleeping and eating, so here is some advice for students (and newbies to the workforce) that can also apply to people outside of the architecture field as well.

I always loved school when I was growing up, but when I became an architecture student, I found unexpected challenges in and out of the classroom. I was involved in multiple student organizations, doing research with professors, and working 2-3 jobs by my junior and senior years. Luckily for me, putting my physical and mental wellness high on my priorities list has become second nature after over ten years of practice. This is not the case for everyone. It is incredibly easy to fall victim to the unhealthy work culture that permeates architecture schools. Finding a good work-life balance is vital.

The most important thing I can say when it comes to work-life balance is this: GET SOME SLEEP. In my experience, all-nighters are not worth it, and there’s an abundance of evidence that lack of sleep, in whatever amount, is detrimental to your health. During my time in school, I only pulled two all-nighters. The first was in the fall of my second year at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown. It was also one of my first semesters learning how to use Rhino and Adobe Illustrator for architecture – and it was while I was home with my parents. It turned out to be harder and more time-consuming than I expected. I sat in my little corner of my mom’s home office and worked from 6 pm the night before my review to 8 am the next morning. By the end I had a project that has not seen the light of day since — and hopefully never will.

Avoiding all-nighters ended up being very beneficial for both my studies and my health. Making a schedule to track all of my assignments in and out of the classroom allowed me to efficiently meet deadlines, avoid overworking myself, and successfully complete my tasks. I kept strict boundaries for myself such as not letting what reviewers had to say about my work — whether negative or positive — affect me too much, avoiding comparing myself to my peers, not staying at my studio desk past 8 pm (a rule that I admittedly broke more often than I would have liked), and waking up before 9 am every day. Waking up early incentivized me to go to bed early as well, so most nights I got plenty of sleep. I avoided becoming obsessive over my schoolwork because I had other passions that needed taking care of. I personally do not operate well when there is only one activity, project, or interest occupying my mind.

Aliyah pointing at screen, defending undergraduate thesis.

Other than being sure to get plenty of sleep to fuel my studies and extracurriculars, I also found time to just exist. Studies show that the mind is the most creative when it is idle. However, finding stillness during a busy day is not easy. If you struggle to find time to do nothing, you can try my method. After classes and during work sessions I would simply look out of a window for five to fifteen minutes (there’s a great article, here, about the benefits of this). In semesters that I would get lucky with the location of my studio, my desk was in front of humongous two-story bay windows, so I would look outside while listening to music or the commotion of frantic architecture students around me. I wouldn’t think about my work or my responsibilities, I would just exist and idly people watch. The art of observing was, and still is, my favorite form of relaxation. I have been fortunate enough to be assigned a desk at work in front of a big window with a view of mountains, trees, and cars passing by. In truth, this is something I have done since I was little and before I knew of the potential benefits, so I have always enjoyed taking my little “window breaks”.

View through office window at Luxor, our Charlottesville office location.

Another important part of finding balance in school was a method my mom taught me when I was young — which I still credit for my healthy work-life balance today. It is the 8 Dimensions of Wellness model, conceptualized by Dr. Peggy Swarbrick of the School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. She defines wellness as, “A conscious, deliberate process that requires a person to become aware of and make choices for a more satisfying lifestyle.” I suggest that people of all personal backgrounds keep an updated priorities list that covers their physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, occupational, financial, and environmental health. There is a comprehensive guide towards using the wellness model co-written by Dr. Swarbrick, here. Now that I am out of school, I mainly work towards physical, emotional, environmental, and occupational wellness on a day-to-day basis, but am sure to give attention to all 8 long-term to maintain my overall wellness.

Making it through the hustle and bustle of architecture school is rough but doable. If I did not find a groove that worked well for me, I never would have made it, so find what works best for you. It is worth it.