I have absolutely no idea when I became fascinated with building. I won’t say it’s because I want to design my own house (which I do) or because I played with Legos (which I did, thousands of them) but there has always been some latent curiosity about how things come together. And, there was also a deep love of music and other associated acts of performing, and a delicious addiction to the spotlight. My father was a band director, and I was wicked talented. A scholarship to Michigan State University afforded me 4 wonderful years of vocal and symphonic involvement, studying with some of my long time idols. But I wasn’t at all interested in music as a career. That’s the thing about intensive study of a subject; sometimes you lose your ability to passively enjoy it.
Thankfully, The University of Michigan has a 3+ graduate program option (as do many other schools) which allowed me to apply directly to their MArch program, having no previous architectural education or experience. A year of prerequisite work included study in studio art, photography, calculus and physics (the only time in my life I have ever prayed, I believe). I enjoyed 7 incredible semesters of architectural study firmly ensconced in the theoretical realm. Studio trips included one to Guatemala for an entire summer and a partial semester in Alaska. My thesis work investigated the hyper-sexualized human body as analogy for architectural investigation, using the skin as site; separating the lived-in-body from the body-that-lives. See “firmly ensconced in the theoretical realm” above. Childhood ski vacations to Winter Park (I KNEW I wanted to live here), a professionally well-connected Aunt and a “Yes, I can do that” attitude landed me my first summer internship, and I have never looked back.
I have had the fantastic fortune of finding the right firm with the right project and exactly the right time. With the small exception of some early detailing work on the One Steamboat Place project, I have been involved with the RSF project on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden since my hiring at RNL. Having finished CA responsibilities with phase one of the project, we are well underway on construction of the second phase. I will be handling Contract Administration for the balance of the project, final completion expected in November 2011. Outside of my work, I am an avid cyclist, runner and swimmer, and I will put my chocolate cake up against your grandmother’s.
I am excited and honored to be involved with the Emerging Professionals Blog and look forward to the contributions and collaborations. With my exams and IDP behind me, I also look forward to in increased involvement in Denver’s robust professional and artistic communities.
B.F.A. Music Performance, Trumpet, Michigan State University – East Lansing MI, December 2002
M. Arch, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor MI, April 2008
IDP Completed, Nov. 2010
ARE Complete, Dec. 2010
Licensed in CO & TX
AIA Colorado Emerging Professionals Blog 