Surprisingly, I knew I wanted to be an architect when I was in grade school. Growing up I would spend weeknights and weekends at my parent’s restaurant in the mall and I would venture to the arcade, toy stores, and bookstores. I came upon a book of ‘500 Home Designs’ and was drawn to the exterior perspectives of various contemporary ranch, Spanish Colonial, and Tudor style homes. The bold walls, door swing arcs, and varying line weights of the floor plan captivated me. I was intrigued by the formal names of spaces; foyer, great room, and solarium. I was hooked.The father of my best friend growing up happened to be an architect, and when I would visit their home, I thought his framed sketches and watercolors of Santa Fe adobe landmarks and boats at a marina were beautiful, loose and dynamic. Seeing those solidified my decision. I would eventually work for him right out of college.Today, I’m proud to say I stayed on that career path. I still approach architecture and design with the same curiosity I had when I first opened that book. Every project has a unique set of problems to solve, from building systems coordination among engineers to developing watertight details. The professional experience gained from my mentors, projects I’ve worked on, and my calm demeanor have in turn made me a capable mentor to those I work with when sketching out details and developing the Revit model.