Thank you to the Gensler staff and interns for taking the time to meet with WHSAD SYEP students.
Students entering their junior and senior years took advantage of yet another opportunity WHSAD’s partnerships offer when they attended a meet and greet panel with college students who are working in Gensler’s summer internship program. The program runs over ten weeks and involves the interns working both with clients and on one collaborative project with their peers. The twenty-seven interns attend various schools throughout the country and pursue diverse majors that include architecture, interior design, finance, etc. During this panel, WHSAD students asked questions related to finding one’s footing in college, and the interns provided thorough and insightful responses that not only spoke to the realities of pursuing a college degree but also broached the importance of levity and flexibility in such a pursuit.
Below are a few narratives from WHSAD students about the experience as well as some of the questions and snippets of interns’ responses.
Cynthia Luna-Marcelino, Rising Senior
Going to the Gensler panel, I was able to meet interns in college as well as professionals. WHSAD students grades 10-12 gathered to ask questions related to college life and the future. As I was part of ACE team 6, I felt much more at home being at Gensler’s office and hence asked some more personal questions.
At the panel there were about 4-5 interns that were working on their masters. I decided to ask them what their journey and growth was like. They told me their struggles and improvements as well as common mistakes to look out for. It was genuinely eye opening to have different perspectives from students of different colleges. Hearing all the advice as well as struggles in a way comforts me, especially because I found out it is okay to come in and make all sorts of mistakes but also that professors are there to guide you into a deeper thinking.
Jonathan Mendez Diaz, Rising Junior
While attending the trip to Gensler I learned a lot that could help me with future opportunities. Besides the fact that I entered a firm worth millions of dollars with professionals, it was so fascinating to see how it would look inside one of the biggest firms out there. Everything has the highest technology that I have seen. The building is well secured around all parts of the building making it look very professional and strict.
While having a discussion one of the interns asked what our understanding of a portfolio is. To our understanding a portfolio is a collection of work samples, projects, or achievements that showcase an individual’s skills and abilities in a particular field. It serves as evidence of their experience and expertise to potential employers or clients.
In this case we don’t have any clients. The people looking at our portfolios are the colleges and universities that we apply to. I learned that even if you want to pursue something completely different to what you are learning at school, you can and should 100% use the portfolio in an application with just including the key details that are used in the other profession. This can help you stand out more rather than if you have nothing.
One of my peers asked a question about how the first year of college could be studying architecture and what they would focus on. An intern responded that the first year of architecture at college is often focused on building a strong foundation in design principles, architectural history, and technical skills. Students typically engage in studio courses where they learn to develop conceptual ideas and translate them into physical models or digital representations. Additionally, they may study subjects such as structural systems, environmental considerations, and urban planning to gain a comprehensive understanding of the field’s complexities.
Overall attending this panel was an amazing experience that really helps you imagine what it would be like to work at one of these firms with the depth of information that they give you per each question.
Linda Foster, Rising Senior
When we visited the Gensler panel, we were welcomed and seated inside a huge meeting room. They provided us with pizza and refreshments, which I enjoyed. The panel was made up of college students interning at Gensler for the summer. The meeting provided us with an opportunity to ask about anything related to majors, advice, etc. This panel allowed students to interact with professionals in these fields. There was a vast amount of people majoring in different fields: there were engineers, designers, artists, and architects.
There was one particular question a student asked: “How do you balance creativity and practicality? This question made the entire room go silent, before some laughter erupted from one of the hosts. He replied, “I’m not laughing at your question but how hard of a question that is to answer.” That’s when I realized something, that the professionals were still trying to answer this question themselves no matter what major and how far they are. More of the interns began to respond to this question, some saying that you are free to use your creativity and your mentor will act as a fence of practicality to keep you from straying, another responded with just following your heart first and let your mind keep you balanced, and some are still figuring that question out themselves.
Hearing from the interns and the hosts provided me with a great sense of relief and insight as they were honest and informative. The responses made me feel like I had more of a concrete foundation, and as a rising senior this panel left me a lot to think about. I know I would like to do something international wise, in the future, letting my creativity guide me in either architecture, business, or design. With all the opportunities I’m taking advantage of, I will have a more solidified plan as I will soon transition from high school to college.
Felisha Solis, Rising Senior
What surprised me was that rather than hearing from the established architects and designers at Gensler we were able to meet and ask the interns questions instead. I found this interesting because I was able to get an insight into how internships are and hear about the interns’ experiences and challenges they may have faced while working on their own projects.
Now what piqued my interest were the various responses from the interns, including the differences between working with imaginations and practicalities, the importance of focusing on having fun while learning how to design in classes at school, and how to implement one’s own style into designs, especially when having experience with non-architecture factors that can be important in architecture. This allowed me to see that there were some questions that not even the hosts could give a concrete answer to and it shows that the many answers provided to us by the architects and interns could be implemented to my own work in daily life.
When transitioning from high school to college as a rising senior I would like to focus on developing my portfolio which is one of the discussions that the interns had brought up. They also mentioned the importance of format and having work that you spent the most time on and are proud of. For me, my career focuses are creative writing and interior design, so I know I can use my imagination to a portfolio of work I am content with and showcase.
After the discussion I considered the importance of focusing on working with what makes me happy, what I can write and design and be proud of starting and finishing the art I’ve made with imagination and a bit of practicality.
Student questions with intern responses:
Do you use your mind or your heart when designing projects?
“Heart is where you get your passion from, mind is what is the first thing that can get me to what my heart wants.”
What changes improvements have you seen during your time in college?
“Learning about foundations in undergrad… masters is finding what you like and develop areas that you want to go for.”
How do you work through your problem solving process?
“Asking other people to think through a problem with you.”
“You never get design right the first time.”
“When in doubt, turn it upside down.”
What are your thoughts on the first year of college?
“Throw in the deep end and let them swim”
“Always remaining curious… self-directive learning, professors… keep you from going off the rails.”
“Teaches you how to think”
“Technical knowledge learned through internships”
“How to fail”
How do you balance creative and practical constraints?
“Go as wild as possible when you’re in school… take this as your chance to experiment”
“You can find creativity in practicality.”
“Stop thinking about reality. Have fun.”
“Architecture is a team sport… so there’s always going to be someone who has more experience than you… so it’s knowing who to tap and ask how do we make this a reality.”
“Studio culture is a great opportunity to pick at the brain of someone who is a professional… don’t be afraid to ask any questions of your professors.”
How do begin to approach that collaboration with different people in different professions?
“Desk critiques-your gateway to access professor’s mind… and how to receive feedback”
“If you don’t know what questions to ask, just listen.”
“There’s always conflict, and I think that’s a good thing.”
How do you see design evolving in the next 5 to 10 years?
“Environmental sustainability… is being integrated into the design process.”
“Architects are the people who can change that.”
“Looking at materials Gensler touches across world.”
“Adaptive reuse, what if we look at the buildings that already exist.”
“More projects that involve collaboration and integration of everyone’s workflow from clients to engineers”
“Project is a solution to a problem”
“Community and social justice in design-intern project for new Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx. How do we fix the problems that we’ve created in the past 100 years.”