Author: stant.10

Wildcard Artifact

One of my favorite shows is Saturday Night Live. In between the sketches, an image is displayed and is referred to as a “bumper”. These are images of the host and/or musical guest and are playful and colorful. During this time of quarantine, I have decided to make myself more marketable by polishing my skills in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and make one of these bumpers for myself. There was a lot that went into it. Firstly, I had to experiment with photography and use many different positions and lighting effects. In the design process, I had to make many small decisions that greatly affected the final project, making me aware that no decision is unimportant in a project. These skills are transferable to my designs in the future in architecture school.

 

G.O.A.L.S. Update & Career Plan Reflection

Many of my GOALS relate to my professional experiences, and I believe myself to be well on my way to achieving them. The organizations I have joined have provided and will provide me with so many more resources to achieve these. These organizations will also play a huge role in service engagement as well. STEP will help with global awareness, hopefully allowing me to travel to Hungary in approximately one year.  My involvement in the career fair has allowed me to understand what firms are looking for and how I can better market myself. Finally, my academic enrichment and original inquiry is being fulfilled in my course work at Knowlton.

End-of-Year Reflection

My second year has ended very abruptly and strangely, but that is not to say I did not get anything out of it. This spring semester has led to a lot for me. I am a new member of Alpha Rho Chi and I am anxious to get involved with their philanthropic and professional activities. I was elected co-president of my disability awareness organization Abilities. I have learned more about what it means to be an architect.

Next year, there is a lot on my plate. Next year is supposed to be the most challenging in the architecture program. This, in addition to my responsibilites in my organizations, will be a tough, but rewarding challenge for me. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me.

Artifact

The image above is a drawing I presented during my first final review in the architecture program for a project that was of my design. This final review was especially scary for me considering, the mid review (a presentation of an idea rather than a completed project) did not go particularly well. Still, I made the choice to continue on and refine my idea. However, when the day finally came in the Knowlton School of Architecture, I was scared the the jury would see the original idea and not like it and think it was underdeveloped. To my surprise, they enjoyed it and did have a lot of good things to say. This review was transformational in that I now could realize that I have the ability to be confident in myself and develop any idea into something great no matter the opinion of others.

Scholars G.O.A.L.S Spring Semester Project

For my spring semester project, I plan on organizing some sort of program with my RAs, Natalie and Simon. The first step to completing this project is deciding what I want the program to be about. The program will have to offer free food to incentivize people to come. Most of the successful programs I have attended so far have combined social and educational aspects. I am possibly organizing this program with my roommate or any other Scholar that want to do it with me. After deciding the theme, I have to meet with the RA’s to discuss what it takes to implement. They will have a lot of knowledge and experience of how to successfully implement programs. I will meet with Simon and/or Natalie in the first two weeks of school. There is not much to do over winter break, but I will have a theme decided on by the time next semester starts. Additionally, I will finalize who all is working with me to develop and implement this program. After talking with Simon and Natalie, I will develop a script so I know what to say during the program.

I would like the program to align with the Honors and Scholars goal of global awareness or leadership development, as those would be very effective to demonstrate or learn about in a program. It would be difficult to align the program with original inquiry, academic enrichment, and service engagement. I am very excited to see how others benefit from my project!

Columbus To Do List Part 2

My friend Sarah and I continued our exploration of German Village just south of Columbus. After a quick bus ride, we stopped at Katzinger’s Deli. While traveling to our next location, The Book Loft, we noticed the fascinating styles of the modern homes and how they kept the German Village vibe but with a modern flare. After perusing through the Book Loft, we walked through the large Schiller Park and to Schmidt’s Sausage Haus. During our travels, we discovered a small candy shop with all our favorite sweets. Sarah and I promised we would return here before Christmas to return home with all our favorite sweets. Finally, our last two stops were Thurman Cafe and the Scioto Audubon Metro Park. I had explored German Village once before with a few other students in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and City and Regional Planning Scholars for the FOTOShop Vignette Project, so I had a faint idea of where I was going, but we still ended up getting lost a few times.

Sarah had never been anywhere past the Short North and thought it was amazing how much there was to do outside of campus and the Short North. I learned that Columbus has so much to offer and that I probably won’t even come close to experiencing it all. While this is slightly depressing, it motivates me to experience it as much as I can during my time on campus, especially when I have free transportation on the bus system. My Scholars mentor gave me great advice to remember that I am here for an education but I also should be here for an experience and these experiences I am having greatly contribute to my health and success.

If someone else was looking to explore German Village, I would recommend to go into every public shop, restaurant, or building they could. The exteriors of all the places in German Village are similar, but their interiors make every single place unique and exciting to explore. The Book Loft literally touches Stauf’s Coffee Shop, but the environment on the inside of these places is completely different. The coffee shop’s industrial vibe and decorations are different than the Book Loft’s crowdedness and classic decorations.Additionally, I would recommend to others that they should explore the residential streets and see how the homes vary in modern and more older styles. German Village also utilizes landscape very uniquely in ways that I never would have imagined.

German Village is one of a few villages around Columbus. I had never heard of Hungarian Village until a few days ago, and I have heard of Italian Village and I am now interested in going since experiencing everything in German Village. Additionally, I am not familiar at all with downtown Columbus, so I may try some experiences in the downtown list. Other Scholars have said good things about it, and I am excited to explore. This assignment has been great for establishing familiarity with Columbus and its surrounding areas, and I am glad I now know of experiences I can have all around Columbus.

 

Having only visited German Village once before, I decided to further explore the area, so I chose the German Village neighborhood-themed list. I am looking forward to experiencing the food options that German Village has to offer. I have honestly never tried a macaron, so I am looking forward to visiting Pistacia Vera to try them.

In visiting German Village, I hope to be able to identify the characteristics of German Village architecture and gain familiarity with the areas around Columbus that are not very modernized like the Short North. The architecture in German Village is very historic but in exploring the area, I found many spots where the architecture shifts to become modern or creates a unique blend between the very different styles. After beginning to explore German Village, I am curious to see other historical and cultural areas of Columbus and experience what they have to offer as well. The other to do lists offered also have some great experiences to offer and I plan to take advantage of that during my time in Columbus.

My first experience started at Pistacia Vera, where I tried macarons with my friend Sarah. I wasn’t a fan, but my friend loved them. She had never explored outside campus besides the Short North and was very eager to explore around Columbus with me. I am really excited to visit the landscapes in German Village, like Schiller Park and the Scioto Audubon Metro Park, so I can see the landscapes as well as the architecture.

Mentor Interview Reflection

I met with Ellie Frey, a second-year landscape architecture student to discuss her experiences at Ohio State, in the landscape architecture program, and to receive any advice that can help me.

Before the interview, I did not know much about the landscape architecture program at Ohio State. Ellie gave me examples of projects that she is working on and she recommended a certain course that would help me learn more about the landscape architecture program at Ohio State. Ellie also gave me contacts for people further in the architecture program if I have questions or want to see what they are working on. I also learned about lesser-known studying spots on campus that are not extremely crowded. Outside of education at Ohio State, Ellie shared her favorite experiences inside and outside the Scholars program. Hearing about the fun she had on Scholars trips makes me excited to go on one. One of the most important things I learned from my interview is that college is an experience. I should make the most out of my education, but I also should focus on learning about myself and making lasting memories.

Having Ellie as a mentor will be extremely helpful as she can give me glimpses into the landscape architecture program so I can decide which program I would like to go into. This interview helped me relate to her on a more personal level and I am glad that I now have an upperclassmen to help me during my time at the Knowlton School of Architecture.