Sunday, October 28, 2007

Mock Interview

My mock interview was this past Monday and I thought it went very well. I think the mock interview is a great idea. If nothing else, it forced me to re-visit my resume and update it. It also gave me a great, no pressure opportunity to get some feedback on the content and layout of my resume. The mock interview also made me really think about what my future interviews will be like and how I can prepare for them.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

CHICAGO

Well, Chicago was a blast! Exhausting, but fun. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were full of scheduled tours and Saturday was a free day. One of the things I most enjoyed was visiting the IIT campus as well as Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio. I'm not a huge fan of Wright as a person but I can't deny that he was an amazing designer, acutely aware of every detail. Thursday afternoon, we took an architectural boat tour and it was absolutely freezing! After the first 45 minutes, the tour guide had lost us all - it was terribly difficult to focus on her over the loud roar of clattering teeth. Needless to say, the last 30 minutes were a bust. One night, a small group of us found a great dueling piano bar and it was such a great time! Why can't Clemson have something like that?!?

I really enjoyed Chicago as a whole. It was a nice change of scenery from Clemson and it seems to be a very accessible city (for the most part). I love having everything you could ever imagine right there for the taking..everything from food to shoping to art and music. Quiesha and I found a wonderful Asian fusion restaurant on our last night and it was a great way to end the trip.
The presentation that I really enjoyed was Megan's speech about the meaning and influence of the different colors. It's an idea that I've always been aware of but never really thought about. I think this is probably true for everyone. We all intuitively know that colors affect how we feel, but we might not automatically associate a specific color with a specific feeling. I also think it is funny that supposedly red makes us hungry and therefore many fast-food places use red in their logos and signs. Who knew?! I remember when I was in middle school, someone did a presentation on how people associate certain letters with certain numbers as well as certain colors, but it seems that no one really knows why people make these associations. Megan's presentation reminded me of this. I would like to do some more research on this because as an architect (or anyone in the design field), it's incredibly important to be aware of this.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

This week, Wednesday to be exact, the 4th year Architecture students are traveling to Chicago. I am so excited about this trip. The last time I was in Chicago I was 6 or 7 years old so I don't remember much. I love that the Architecture professors are willing to take us on group trips and teach us about architecture by showing us and not just talking to us. We will, of course, be going on a boat tour of the city, as well as touring the IIT campus. Some of us are even thinking of taking the train to Milwaukee one afternoon to see a famous Calatrava building. I think it's going to be a great trip with just the right balance of work and play!