Born and raised in the San Luis Valley, I grew up in the country surrounded by mountains, beauty, and loved ones. My early love for The Lego Group, Sciences, and Arts set me on a collision course for the world of Architecture.
I recently graduated from the University of Colorado Denver College of Architecture and Planning in the summer of 2021. My peers and I who worked in the Design Build Certificate Program contributed to an AIA award winning project (in the onset of a pandemic). I continue to explore my passion for architecture ever since my first encounter with the discipline in high school under the instruction of Aaron Woodke. He taught “Introduction to Architectural Practice” as well as its subsequent classes of which I was a student for three years. In my final year of high school, I had the opportunity to shadow David Kurtz, an Architect working with Neenan Archistruction on a new high school in the San Juan Mountains.
Upon high school graduation, I moved to Portland, Oregon pursuing the University Honors College program in addition to a Bachelor of Science majoring in Architecture at Portland State University. During my time in Portland, I had the honor of studying Architecture under the instruction of Barbra Sestak, Sergio Palleroni, Todd Ferry, Andrew Santa Lucia, Julia Mollner, Margarette Leite, Quang Truong, Jeff Schnabel, Nikola Boscanin, Juan Heredia, Annemarie Jacques, Travis Bell, Anna Goodman, B. D. Wortham-Galvin, Matt Sedor, Rebecca Bompiani, Aaron Whelton, and Cary Dasenbrock.
I learned that architecture is narrative, depicting stories of lifestyle, livelihood, and temporal significance. Sometimes these stories are stated strongly, other times spoken softly. I learned that architecture stitched within a social, environmental, emotional, and economic ecosystem, transcends aesthetic whim in favor of inclusivity, responsibility, and advocacy. I also learned and fell in love with Argentine Tango, a passion that quickly took root in my life; I went dancing almost every night of the week while still gaining academic recognition. Above all, I learned that empathy is the root of undeniably great, powerful, and purposeful architecture.
Between academic years, I worked as an Interpretation and Visitor Services Park Ranger at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. I had the honor of working at this park for six consecutive summers, carrying out graphic design, event organizing, photography, and public instructive programs that utilize art as a communicative media: depicting geology, hydrology, and meteorology through media choice, stroke technique, and color.
Between academic years, I worked as an Interpretation and Visitor Services Park Ranger at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. I had the honor of working at this park for six consecutive summers, carrying out graphic design, event organizing, photography, and public instructive programs that utilize art as a communicative media: depicting geology, hydrology, and meteorology through media choice, stroke technique, and color.
I have always had a love of the natural world and so I struggle with architecture’s undesirable impacts upon it. This intersection is what currently perplexes and intrigues me as I continue my journey in the field designing projects for rural and underserved communities in Southern Colorado through CU Denver.
