Meet WHSAD's Students

In this story, Melissa, Alison, and Reyly discuss their processes, challenges, strengthened and burgeoning skills, and what they foresee for the rest of their work this year. Thank you to the Crème mentors, Jun Aizaki, Masako Fukuoka, and Tania Kaufman, who have been working with our students in realizing their visions. Describe the Creme project so far. The Crème project is going well so far for me and my group. Everyday we all come up with a new idea for the restaurant, such as the seating arrangements and the color scheme for the walls. Many of us sometimes agree and disagree with how we want the restaurant to be, but eventually we come to good terms on how our restaurant should look. Some of the disagreements that have taken … [Read more...]

One of the perks of attending WHSAD is graduating with an AutoCAD certificate. AutoCAD is a computer-aided design (CAD) program that allows users to create 2D and 3D drawings, models, and blueprints. It's used in many industries, including architecture, engineering, and construction. WHSAD students use AutoCAD on a daily basis to work on projects for both their architecture classes and their extracurricular pursuits with the school’s industry partners. In the following narratives, students share their thoughts about the AutoCAD exam, preparing for the exam, the benefits of AutoCAD certification and being well-versed in the program, and how they have used AutoCAD in their work at WHSAD. Thank you to Architecture teachers, Mr. Blake … [Read more...]

This is the first installment in Sophomore, Sayelis', journal regarding her experiences working on a project partnering with MAOarch. She, along with some of her peers, will continue to provide updates as to their teams' progress over the course of the process. The students' next check in will be at the end of March, so stay tuned for a future update. On February 26, I met the architects from MAOarch again. This time, my team presented a brand new project for this school year. I was so excited because it meant that I would be receiving feedback from actual experts who would help me get better and reach a higher potential. Over the summer, I was so shy because I didn’t know what they were going to say, and I had no idea if I was good … [Read more...]

WHSAD Sophomore, Jesse Sanoff, devised and wrote this story and will continue to provide updates regarding the CTA program over the course of this year. CTA Architects is an architecture firm based in Manhattan. For the past two years, WHSAD has partnered with CTA Architects in an architectural program. This program is returning for a third year and now students are going to be creating proposals for the renovation of a retirement home. Students are split into groups, work with mentors from CTA, and compete to make the best design and presentation of a space given to them by the mentors. Students have to meet certain requirements for their design and are given pieces to work on in increments, such as having their program for their … [Read more...]

I have always enjoyed art. Animation and online tutorials have always been a part of my life. In middle school I did a ceramic class, and my teacher encouraged me to continue working in creative fields of work. This experience reinforced my aspiration of becoming an artist. When I joined WHSAD in the 9th grade, I learned about the Pratt Young Scholars program. Pratt teachers came to the school and did a presentation on the program during 4th and 9th period in an architecture classroom. It provides three years of exposure and various types of art and techniques taught by real college professors. The opportunity that the program offered was more than anything that I have ever been exposed to. I applied, interviewed, and submitted samples … [Read more...]

This summer I worked as an intern for an Architecture and Engineering firm through Saint Nick’s Alliance called SRW. I got the opportunity to work with professionals in the field on AutoCAD drawings, site visits, weekly meetings, and more. I’ve learned a lot about professionalism and communication, and the experience has helped me figure out what I’d like in a career.  A lot of what I did was editing AutoCAD drawings, which helped me apply what I learned in class to real life. My supervisor would give me an assignment, I would work on it as best I could, then we would meet again and discuss what still needed fixing. If I ever needed help operating a command, he would help me figure it out. In addition to the experience being … [Read more...]

Why are you attending Cooper Union? I will be attending The Cooper Union in the fall because of the amazing architecture program that it offers alongside being the best financial aid package offered to me. But even before this I had applied to Cooper as an early decision applicant creating a binding contract that if admitted I would attend The Cooper Union. I was confident that I wanted to attend Cooper and that its architecture program alongside its intimate class size was the perfect school for me.  What was the process in applying to Cooper Union? What do you think made your application unique?  The process of applying to The Cooper Union was very tedious. Besides submitting the usual college application, Cooper requires the … [Read more...]

Below, Obadiah shares his thoughts about attending The Cooper Union in the fall. Why are you attending Cooper Union? I want to be able to push the minds of what's acceptable in architecture. What I appreciate about Cooper is its focus on conceptual work. To me, being challenged is all that matters, and I know The Cooper Union offers just that. What was the process in applying to Cooper Union? What do you think made your application unique? Apart from the required essay, unlike other Architectural Programs- Cooper doesn’t ask for a portfolio in their administration process. You MUST complete what they call the “HomeTest”. This consists of a series of 7 very unique questions to which you are given a month to complete. You are able … [Read more...]

On January 6th, at The Armory Hispanic Games, WHSAD Junior, Robert Tirado, came up big in both the 55 and 200 meter events, setting Van Arsdale records in both. The following is an interview in which Robert shares some of his thoughts about the experience and how track and field has been part of his life. Tell the story of when you first became interested in running.  I remember back in middle school I used to race my friends and people in the school for fun, which made me realize that i'm actually pretty good at running. At the time, I aimed to keep going and join the track team in high school. Also, my mom ran back in the day, so another thing that interested me was to be faster than her. We used to race home after school almost … [Read more...]

What activities are you involved in? Why did you join these activities? I joined some of them to help me with getting into a college, for fun and for future career options and opportunities. What are the benefits of participating in these activities? CTA Architects and Makerspace are the ones that matter the most for college and careers. Open houses and lighthouses help me get better and practice my presentation skills and the Polish Castles Book Project I did for fun and because it would help other people since they would have something to put on a resume. How have you grown from participating in these activities? All of the after-school activities have helped me. I got way better at my presentation skills, I got to … [Read more...]