Young Architect's Forum

The College of Fellows and the Young Architect's Forum recently started a quarterly webinar series. I 'attended' the first session, entitled "Getting Work" on March 17th.

I found the session to be... not at all what I expected. It was, however, very interesting and fulfilling. I look forward to 'attending' the remaining three in the series.

The premise of the series, that our development as professionals is equally as important as our development as designers and theorists, was very compelling. I have always held a deep interest in the workings of a profitable, successful firm. I got into architecture strictly because of my passion for it, but I never want to be so incapable of turning a profit that I have to make the platitude "well, I didn't get into architecture for the money" work.

At I.S:A, I'm fortunate to have a very strong advocate for my personal and professional growth. And of course, being in a small firm, you have much more access to the consequences of your daily actions.

I think the thing I took away most from this webinar was that I should pursue my extracurricular interests, such as Toastmasters, Literacy Volunteers and Rochester Young Professionals. I had been writing them down on my to-do list but never getting to them, because they weren't as 'architectural' as studying for the ARE's (all passed! saying that will never get old!) or the LEED exam. But the point that was made in this webinar is that they are not only indirectly architectural, it is their non-standardization that is valuable. You'll develop skills you wouldn't in a firm setting, and have access to non-architects. Who, while inspiring and eye-opening in their own right, might eventually become clients. The point was, these non-architectural extra-curriculars are win-win-win for the intern, their community, and their firm.

Now, I just have to get out there more!