Student Futures

This evening was a wonderful example of how student voices matter. The Landscape Architecture department, in looking to the future of the curriculum, called a townhall to discuss how to better the program. At the townhall students heard from Chair Richard Weller about weaknesses in the past, current weaknesses, and unique opportunities to expand. Some of the key notes were a need to focus…

Stayin’ Alive in Flu Season

Penn Health: https://campushealth.wellness.upenn.edu/coronavirus/ Penn Global: https://global.upenn.edu/ No need to cue the Bee-Gee’s, unless your dancing days are keeping you fit and flu free. School is just getting under way and so is the sick season. It’s cold outside, stressful inside, sleep has been cut back to make way for homework and you don’t have time to get sick, forget be sick. To top it…

Spring Classes Begin!

Hi again all!! I know I have been a bit silent recently. I am happy to be back however and have sooooo many stories to share! In the next week or two I’ll be recapping the major highlights of the last semester as well as the whole career/job section of this blog. In more current news I am back in architecture for a semester….

Externship 2020

Back and better than ever, this year the externship program has expanded to include several landscape architecture firms. I am very excited for everyone who was placed in an externship. 75 students competed for only 30 positions! Like last year the crunch to complete and submit all materials was intense. Portfolios, resumes, and statements of interest needed updating. Firms needed to be researched. Making…

Career Fair 2019 and Beyond!

Career Fairs are excellent ways to get into contact with the many professionals realizing the worlds potentials. While most people attending career fairs are in search of an internship or job I would suggest that it is an excellent conversation ground to learn more the state of your field. If you are there simply to mix and mingle though try going towards the end…

PIWA’s Mentorship Program

A lot can be learned from a mentor, particularly one in a position you have yet to be in.  This past year I joined PennDesign’s PIWA Mentorship program. I hoped that I might learn something about the field of architecture and the internship search process that I hadn’t learned through my own research. My mentor was extremely kind, very available, and super helpful! I…

Summer Reading

This list will be updated as I find more resources worth pursuing. Summer is a chance to explore ones own interests outside of class requirements. There are many ways to explore an interest, one good way is to read up on it. Any Google Search can pull up list upon list of potential summer reads. Below I have listed a few that have caught…

Architect’s Weekend Out

  Falling Water: https://fallingwater.org/ Ohiopyle State Park: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/OhiopyleStatePark/Pages/default.aspx Flight93: https://www.nps.gov/flni/index.htm Falling Water is a classic house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The number of times this house alone is mentioned in a school setting makes it one of the top buildings on any architects travel list. I probably would never have considered a visit if I hadn’t been inundated with the praises and wonders…

Sally Week: Urban Hopes

PhillyEarth: https://phillyearth.org/ Village of Arts and Humanities: http://villagearts.org/ Phildelphia Orchard Project: https://www.phillyorchards.org/ Day five was unexpected. I knew we would be focusing on more city systems but wasn’t ready for what we came into contact with. I found the work being done in the North Philadelphia around Germantown and Temple University area really meaningful. It was inspiring to hear the stories of the area…

Sally Week: A Bird’s Farm Song

Rushton Preserve: https://wctrust.org/rushtonwoodspreserve/ Day four was delightful. The class traveled to Rushton Preserve to observe both the catching and banding of birds and a tidy urban farm nestled into habitat and research. The process of catching, tagging and releasing the birds was something I had never seen before. The bird nets were so light I couldn’t believe that they held such vigorous birds. But…