LeEllen remembers that when she was young, her family used to go to a timeshare that had places to stay that were built in the shape of mushrooms. She thought those were cool, and they were her first indication that designing and building might be in her future.
In high school, LeEllen studied drafting and design and found that she liked these subjects and had an aptitude for them. In her Junior and Senior years of high school, she also did an internship at an architecture firm. These experiences further reinforced for her that architecture was the right path for her, and she continued on to study architecture in college.
In today’s episode, she explains what architecture school was like for her, what made her want to be licensed, and what the licensing process was like for her.
She also talks about her interest in sports and how she ended up coaching girls’ softball. Listen to the episode to hear what LeEllen has to say about her career, interests, and her experiences with the architecture exams.
What You’ll Hear on This Episode:
- What inspired LeEllen to go into architecture
- What architecture school was like for LeEllen
- What happened for LeEllen after school
- How LeEllen decided on architectural licensing
- The way that LeEllen and other boot campers approached the tests when they reopened
- How LeEllen is working on her last test
- How LeEllen began coaching girls’ softball
- LeEllen’s insights around not passing an architect exam
- LeEllen’s advice for aspiring architects
- What LeEllen knows today that she didn’t know then
- The book that changed everything for LeEllen
- LeEllen’s favorite resource, product, or gadget
- LeEllen’s best timesaving trick
- The best way to connect with LeEllen
Top Three Takeaways from This Episode:
- Keep your eyes open for opportunities
- Learn from your stress.
- Open the channels of learning by networking and building relationships.
LeEllen’s Advice for Aspiring Architects:
“One, sleep is not overrated. So that’s for anybody in school, anybody working, anything. Sleep is not overrated. Whoever said that was an idiot, or they didn’t go through architecture school. That was like the first thing I learned when I got out of architecture school was sleep is not overrated, it’s really nice. And with studying, when you don’t sleep, you don’t retain nearly as much as what you would if you were sleeping properly. So first and foremost, get some sleep.”
Favorite Quotes:
“Then I found your blog post about how studying makes you a better architect, and I decided I like that, I’m going to try it. I’m going to take this boot camp and I’m going to see what happens.” – What LeEllen knows now that she didn’t know then.
“I had to find hours. As you know, I tend to be dedicated to multiple things, school, coaching, and everything, so I read the book 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam.” –The book that changed everything for LeEllen
“So it’s not so much a gadget, but I cannot live without tea.” –LeEllen on her favorite resource, product, or gadget
“I use the Google suite in tools a ton.” –LeEllen on her best time-saving trick
Resources Mentioned on the Show:
