My Summer at Page

As an architecture student, the future was something largely unknown. I often found myself trying to relate what I was experiencing in my classes to my imagination of work life. Now that I am entering the final week of my internship at Page, I can honestly say the experience was nothing like I imagined—it was better.

The first time I encountered Page was in 2016 during the Rowlett Lecture held by Texas A&M University’s CRS Center in honor of the Center’s 25th anniversary. David Morgareidge presented on the future of modeling and simulation for programming and Jamie Flatt presented on analytics in architecture. As an employee of the center, I was fortunate enough to attend a dinner with Jamie and learn more about her story. Ultimately, these two leaders inspired me to pursue an internship with Page. Over the next two years, I worked hard in my studios, developed a portfolio of work and attended every career fair. Though I was not successful with my pursuit of an internship with Page my junior year, this past spring that effort came to fruition. During the final semester of my undergraduate career, I was invited to intern with the Government Studio in Austin. This was something I had been striving towards for years and it was truly a wonderful feeling to know I would get to be a part of the team.

My first day at Page, I went through an orientation process in the morning and by the afternoon I was off to work. The Government Studio welcomed me and made sure I experienced different aspects of the building process despite the quick pace. I worked directly with competent architects and interior designers, all of whom were available when I had questions and valued my input. This internship helped me to develop my Revit skills, build skillsets in design development and interior design, coordinate with the government and partner companies, assemble presentations for team meetings and experience professional leadership skills first hand. These are critical skills I will need in the future and I am so fortunate I was given a chance to develop them.

I learned in incredible amount in the span of a few months, but most of all I learned that I am a competent individual. In the subtlest way, college ate away at my basic self-esteem. I entered the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University with the belief that I could do anything I put my mind to, but the constant grind of architecture courses and brutally subjective design reviews left me wondering if I actually understood my course material. Was I just doing what needed to be done to make the grade, or was I actually learning for the sake of my future? It was difficult to see how my courses were preparing me for a career, and as graduation approached I was unsure if I was truly skilled enough to enter work life with such a talented firm. Thankfully, interning at Page blew all my doubts away. It was quickly apparent I had the skills necessary to begin work and the capability to quickly learn the rest. Page was fantastic about helping me grow and emphasizing how important process, support, and teamwork was to both a successful employee and a successful project. I saw everyday how Page’s vision—design that makes lives better—positively impacted employees, partners, and clients.

It is true that going to school for architecture and practicing in the field of architecture are very different; however, I have realized that my years of effort in college prepared me for my career by honing my determination and giving me a solid foundation upon which to build. Interning at Page has helped me take the next step by helping me determine what I want and expect from any firm I work for in the future. Wherever the next stage of life takes me I know one thing for sure, I will take Page’s values to heart and always aim to help make lives better.

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