How did you first get interested in design?
Ever since childhood, I enjoyed creating things. My Dad is an engineer, and I was fascinated by his work as a kid. I remember he would show me plans and drawings of the projects he was working on. My mom is also a very creative and crafty person and is always renovating something or creating something, I always found myself helping her with her endeavors. Things such as Lego, and video games such as Minecraft also come to mind as inspirations. In high school, I became interested in pursuing a graphic design education; however, I decided to instead seek out architecture as it provides more of the hands-on craftsmanship that I love.
What kind of career do you hope to have?
I hope to have a career which is fulfilling and makes a tangible and meaningful impact on the world, no matter how small. I am much more interested in doing smaller scale design work where a real difference can be made rather than becoming lost in a large corporate system. I also have an interest in teaching, I would love to one day be a professor of some kind as I find this kind of work very fulfilling.
What is your favorite thing about the College of Arts + Architecture?
The thing I like the most about the COA+A is its freedom and flexibility of the assignments presented to us. Our studio professors may lay out certain guidelines or hard requirements for a certain project, but most of the time it is up to us to challenge these rules and create whatever we see fit for a given project. You can never really do something definitely right or wrong, but you can do something good. Our professors and college appreciate rigorous and passionate work above all, and I think feeling encouraged to continuously create and iterate is the best thing for an architect.
Do you participate in any community activities or work in the Charlotte arts community?
Last year I worked as a Communications Consultant within the COA+A, which is a sort of mentoring/teaching position for the freshman architecture students. I greatly enjoyed this work and it is something I am looking to do again in the future. I also volunteered for the architecture specific club, Freedom By Design (FBD). With FBD, I have been involved in creating and managing projects and events in the school and local Charlotte community.
When you are not in class, studying, or working, what do you like to do for fun?
When I am not working, I like to play video games, and recently I have been having a lot of fun playing older games. I also enjoy cooking and trying new kinds of food, especially Japanese and Asian cuisines. I am starting to become a big collector of things such as vinyl records, cassettes, retro games, VHS, vintage clothes, etc; I love hunting for these things at antique and thrift stores.