Undergraduate Reflection
Moving to Seattle to attend the University of Washington was one of the most impactful events of my life up to this point. This move from the small community of Fairplay, Colorado to the bustling city of Seattle has completely shaped the way I view the world and is a huge reason I am the person that I am today. The importance of it stems from the fact that arriving in Seattle completely opened my eyes to the true scale and diversity of the world and what it has to offer. While this is something that has been crucial to me, that doesn’t mean that when it happened it wasn’t extremely overwhelming. My life and my world had grown exponentially practically overnight, and I had a hard time adjusting to that for my entire first year at the University.
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I struggled in some ways more than others, but one thing that I did not struggle with was that this transition made it very clear to me that I wanted to pursue a career within the Built Environment; and more specifically Architectural Design. While I had always been interested in the Built Environment, this transition expanded my view of it so drastically and I knew that it was my passion. Unfortunately, that was something that I could not truly start during my first year at the University because the required prerequisite courses could not be taken until the second year. Therefore, I used my first year to complete some general education requirements and further explore various interests that I had. This ended up being very valuable to me because it allowed me a longer leash academically while I adjusted to the other aspects of the transition.
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Once I returned to Seattle for my second year at the University, I felt much more comfortable with the life that I was now living and I felt that I had grown and matured a lot. I felt like I was in a great position to begin my pursuit of a degree in Architectural Design. However, even as prepared and ready as I thought I was, I could have never been prepared for the academic jump that the first quarter of the prerequisite courses was from any of my previous experience. I struggled quite a lot in that quarter; not specifically with my grades but more with adjusting to the amount of work and commitment that was needed to not only finish assignments and work, but to excel and grow.
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However, near the end of that first quarter I started to make the adjustment. I not only started improving in my work, but also started enjoying it much more and doing it more in my free time. All this showed when I performed much better the following quarter in grades, quality of work, and ability to manage the nature of the work. I was feeling confident and ready to apply to the Architectural Design Program at the end of Winter Quarter 2020. Unfortunately, that confidence quickly turned to disappointment as I was not accepted into the program. This news affected me very strongly because I had put so much time and effort into improving myself and I really felt like I gave myself the best shot that I had. To make matters worse COVID-19 had shut down in person schooling and the world as a whole just about a month before I heard back from the program. All of this combined to create one of the most challenging times of my journey at the University.
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Fortunately, while I was taking the prerequisite courses, I overheard a fellow student mention and talk briefly about the Community, Environment, and Planning Program at the University. They mentioned that it was the undergraduate program that the University of Washington offered for Urban Planning. Urban Planning was another field that I had started to become interested in during my first couple years at the University. So when I heard it mentioned, I put it in the back of my mind as a possible back-up if I didn’t get into the Architectural Design Program.
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Once that result became a reality, I quickly did some preliminary research on the Community, Environment, and Planning Program. However, because I was heavily struggling at the time I didn’t research the program to the degree I should have. I only learned about its basics and found that it had rolling admissions. Because of the rolling admissions, I put off doing any further research while I recovered from the news and dealt with the situation of the world. I didn’t realize how great of a match it would turn out to be for me. I spent the next couple months trying to decide what my next steps would be and rebounding from the hit I had taken.
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After those few months had passed, I finally did the proper research on the Community, Environment, and Planning Program. Through this research I found that it was not only an Urban Planning program, but provided students with a large amount of academic freedom to explore their other academic interests and merge them into their education. Discovering these details about the program made it clear to me that this was the perfect path for me. I could earn a degree with a focus in Urban Planning, while also continuing my studies in Architectural Design to better prepare me for my post-undergraduate plans. Becoming an Architect was still my goal so I knew that I wanted to pursue a graduate degree in Architectural Design. This program allowed me to prepare for that while also diversifying my education and giving me skills and knowledge in other areas.
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In learning all of these details I applied to the Community, Environment, and Planning Program in the Summer of 2020. Due to COVID-19, the entire application process was done remotely which was still new and challenging for me. However, I was ecstatic to find out that I was accepted into the program in August of 2020. This was a huge moment for me because it was the point where I felt like I had fully rebounded from my rejection from Architectural Design. I had endured one of the hardest times in my life and came out on top. Moving into my third year at the University, I was ready to take my new opportunity and make the most of it.
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While I was fully ready to put my best foot forward, some things were completely out of my control. COVID-19 was still heavily affecting the world going into the 2020-2021 school year. The entire school year would be conducted remotely, and this brought issues and struggles that me nor anyone else could have envisioned. Not having in person classes and events meant that social connections were harder to establish and maintain. This was hard for so many people and I was no exception to this. Going into the Community, Environment, and Planning Program, I didn’t know anyone, and that didn’t really change for the whole first year that I was in the program. Establishing social connections remotely was difficult for many people, and I particularly had a really tough time with it. I didn’t feel like I was able to fully experience what the major was because I didn’t get to experience a major part of it, Community.
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However, while I was struggling with the social aspect of life, one thing that I was not struggling with whatsoever was my academics and pursuit of my interests. I put most of my focus here during this time and it really showed in the work that I was producing and the experience that I was gaining. Whether it was the knowledge I gained through the core classes of the program, the work I produced and experience I gained in the Communications Committee, the skills I gained and work I produced in CEP 473, or the work I produced and skills I gained from personal projects, I put my all into developing and growing during this year. As difficult as my third year was, I am incredibly proud of what I was able to accomplish and the growth that I went through.
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Moving into my fourth year at the University brought about a whole new challenge that I was not ready for. In the time leading up to the start of the year it was becoming clear that classes would move back in person. This is something that I had a great deal of excitement for because it meant that I could finally start to make connections with my peers in the program. However, it also brought about a large wave of nerves and anxiety because it had been over a year since we had been in person for anything. While I was excited, I worried a lot about the state of my social skills and how successful I would be in making connections. This process was difficult and it took some time, but eventually I got to a point where I was comfortable and able to make connections. One thing that really helped me in this process was switching from the Communications Committee to the Program Events and Student Engagement Committee. I wanted to put myself in situations to create connections and this committee was a great way to do that because it focuses on organizing events for the students of the program. Additionally, the nature of the Program Events and Student Engagement Committee required more social interaction to complete work. Due to all of this, switching to this committee was really important for me because it made the transition back to in person life easier.
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My fourth year at the University was by far the most academically challenging. Arguably the biggest contributor to this challenge was the Senior Capstone for the Community, Environment, and Planning Program. This project was started in September of 2021 and lasted all the way until June 2022. Before beginning this project, I had never worked on anything close to this scale and there was the added element that the project's scope was to be completely decided and set by me. However, even with this mountain of a project in front of me, I saw it as an opportunity to prove to myself just how far I had come. I not only wanted to complete the project based on the parameters set by the Community, Environment, and Planning Program, but I also wanted to push myself to complete a project that I wasn’t completely sure I could. To do this I created the project “Re-Imagining the Small Town Community Center” to look at how to best design a community center for people who live in small rural towns. The scope of this project pushed my limits, but I was able to complete what I set out to do and I am proud of what I produced.
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In addition to the Senior Capstone Project, the rest of my academics from my fourth year were a step up in difficulty from the previous years. Whether it was in the Fall where I was working with Kitsap Transit in CEP 460 while also taking Physics, the Winter where I was taking three different classes on top of the Senior Capstone class, or the Spring where I was in the final push to finish my Senior Capstone and other loose ends to prepare for graduation, the entire year was filled with a difficult and full schedule and there were many points where I struggled. However, I was able to push through and overcome it and I could not be happier. Completing everything from this year really showed how far I had come over the previous four, and I am proud of what I accomplished and how much I’ve grown.
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My time at the University of Washington and in the Community, Environment, and Planning Program has been filled with countless ups and downs and adversity. While there have been times that have been really hard, I would not trade my experiences for anything. All of the things that I have gone through in the last four years have shaped me into the person I am today, and I’m excited to take my experiences into the next phase of my life.
