LINK Reflection

              Coming into link my skill range was pretty limited compared to the people I was working with however my interest in design led me to gaining new skills. I could offer my drawing skills which were very helpful in drafting and overall my artistic motivation to create and design. Throughout my internship I developed new skills that I will be able to use in my future and career. For example I learned how to use Google SketchUp a 3D modeling program which my mentors often use to create models of buildings. I also learned how to be precise and think ahead through drafting. My project was to design a house with the final product being sketched out floor plans and a 3D model of the house. The floor plans were done by hand in pen and once I got to the final draft it took me about 10 tries before I got it right. Every line I made had to be precise and exact and if I made one little mistake I had to redo the whole thing no matter how far along I was. This process was irritating and tedious and took the span of few days to complete but it shed some light onto what designing a house is really and how important attention to detail and focus are. 

Some of the challenges I faced were during my first weeks, both my mentors were very busy trying to finish the plans for a house so it could go into permitting by the end of the week. This left me alone for most of the time even though I had my project laid out and tasks I could do it was difficult to concentrate and be sure what I was doing was right. I didn’t want to ask too many question or take up to much of my mentors time because I knew they were busy. Even though I completed most of my tasks quickly I learned to think ahead about what else I could do to plan for my project, such as looking up tutorials and learning  how to use SketchUp. I made all the questions I asked meaningful and tried to get as much information as I possibly could out of each one, I tried to make the time I had with my mentors worthwhile.

I believe my mentors would be open to hosting other high school interns because they were able to share their knowledge about architecture with me and I was able to get something valuable out of it. I think I made a good impression on this company and set a good example for future interns because I was interested and engaged in the work they were doing at the firm. My mentors were very supportive and set me up for success they inspired and immersed me in their work encouraging me to add a creative mindset and perspective to their workplace.

This internship has helped me prepare for college and a career because now I know that architecture and design are things I am very interested in pursuing in college and as a career.

Going into this internship I thought that architecture was more about the overall broad planning and designing of a building, now I understand the amount of responsibility architects have and how important details are. I realized that it's not always fun and exciting working in architecture for all of the fun parts there are tedious plans and details to be deeply thought out. Overall this experience was a very helpful way for me to experience what it is like to work as architect and how they follow their passions and find meaning in their work.