An architectural internship is the binding together of theoretical, design oriented schooling and practical, business driven reality. This disconnect presents a critical period where the mind of a young architect can be harnessed to ascend to a fruitful career or conversely can be stifled and ultimately led away from the profession entirely. The entity that is most critical during this time in a young architect’s
career is the mentor or supervisor as defined by NCARB. The mentor has the potential to develop the fresh, innovative, absorbent intern. This time should be a time of learning, leading and guiding, providing opportunities for a young architect to get his or her arms around a project and really take ownership and be an advocate for the design.

Too often interns are looked at as draftsmen and production workers. While a carpenter apprentice needs to spend a great amount of time in the woodshop learning about the tools, he surely will never really learn to carve wood until he is handed a knife, given wood and presented the opportunity to experiment and practice. I have found our clients are very sympathetic to working with young interns. I think they find it refreshing and encouraging that firms take the time to train their young employees and get them involved at early phases of the project so that they can carry that base of knowledge throughout the project and become more active team members.

An intern should be afforded an environment where he or she is encouraged to ask questions. One of the most rewarding parts of the profession of architecture is the notion that the learning curve never plateaus. The industry continues to reshape and redevelop materials and methods for the way we design and deliver our product to our clients. I firmly believe, regardless of our professional level, we can
all benefit greatly from this learning and dialog. When we don’t know the answers to specific questions, we are caused to branch out and continue learning ourselves.

Mentors should encourage interns to become plugged into their local community. I believe that professional organizations and continuing education and training are key components to a successful career. As a young architect, attendance at conferences such as this one is especially important in developing talent and making quality contributions to the industry. Through thoughtful, informed leadership, I believe we can benefit our young staff and, more importantly, the clients for whom we work.

I am very eager to attend the conference, and I sincerely hope you will consider me as a conference participant.

Thank you for your time and consideration.