IDP. Just hearing those letters makes me cringe. It’s not that I’ve had a negative experience with them, for I have yet to begin; or that they have kept me from becoming an architect. The letters IDP represent an ominous, soon-to-be-defined period in my architectural career. More than likely, the day you read this essay, I will be stepping into my new office for the first time, not as a summer intern, but as an emerging professional. Will I see IDP as a hurdle to jump over on my way up the ladder or a useful tool in my development? Will I find the program a helpful guide as I collect experience, or find myself buried behind construction documents? I believe both the questions I ask and the answers I find will be invaluable in your discussion of the transition from education to practice through IDP.

My final undergraduate year, I assisted a professor in researching and writing on the topic of IDP. I had no preconceptions of the program from my own experience. Throughout this year, I gathered information published about this program, communicating both its pitfalls and its strengths. I have read countless articles, cataloged their findings, and analyzed their positions. The process was an excellent opportunity for me to look at IDP objectively and from our research, draw my own conclusions. I believe something needs to change. The Intern Development Program, as we know it, is not satisfying the needs of interns or their employers. I believe I have identified key areas which if revaluated, could direct IDP to a more successful future:

• IDP, the undefined link bridging education and practice, has the potential to catapult graduates
  into a successful architecture career.
• Interns desperately want to play a more significant role in constructing the framework of
  IDP; their opinions a vital to the redevelopment and maintaining of the program.
• Mentorship is critical to the IDP process and an intern’s development and should be more
  formally recognized and mentor training should be available.
• California’s program, C-IDP, is a significant step towards a better IDP and should be studied
  more critically as a solution for the nation.
• Other professions have similar transition programs which should be examined and relevant
  pieces applied.

I am excited to begin my passage into the architecture world through IDP. As I begin my journey, I do not yet have the experience or knowledge necessary to walk on my own; I rely on the solid path of others who have gone before me. When I look back as I a professional, I hope I will have left a path for others to follow. We may only embark into the profession once, but we will spend our
careers emerging into the mentors and architects we once dreamed of being. As the architecture community strengthens its fresh, moldable new members, the profession as a whole will be enriched and reinvigorated, which in turn will delineate a clearer path for future emerging professionals.