When I tell people I studied architecture, the response is almost always the same: “Whew! That’s intense.” And honestly, they’re not wrong. The program demands your time, creativity, patience—and more than a few sleepless nights.
What I didn’t expect was how much I would grow through that intensity, or how much I would come to love the very thing that challenged me most. As an architecture major with a minor in landscape architecture, I knew I was choosing a rigorous path. I just didn’t realize how deeply it would shape who I am.
The hardest part wasn’t any one project or deadline; it was finding the will to keep going when walking away would have been so much simpler. There were moments of real exhaustion, when stepping away from the work felt like the only option.
But I stayed.
The thesis year was its own beast. Long after the rest of campus had gone quiet, you’d find me and my closest friends—Aubrey Myers, Jasmine Yoder, JasMonae Wyley, and Sierra Ivy—in the Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning (ECAP) building, exporting renders and trimming Make2Ds hours before a critique, with a movie on in the background and sleep-deprived laughter keeping us going. We made those all-nighters as fun as they could be, and we genuinely got through them together. I was also incredibly fortunate to have mentors who believed in me every step of the way: Adriana Elser, Andrea Swartz, April Westcott, Cesar Cruz, Joshua Coggeshall, Kionna Walker, and Lori Pence each shaped my experience in ways I’ll carry long after graduation.
Some of my most meaningful moments happened outside the studio. Studying abroad in Greece and Turkey gave me some of the best memories of my life—swimming in the Marmara Sea and waking up at 4 a.m. to hike near the Acropolis to catch the sunrise with my friends. Later, I had the privilege of presenting that experience and the importance of studying abroad to President Mearns and the Board of Trustees.
On campus, I stayed as involved as I could. I founded ACE (Adept, Capable, and Experienced), a professional development student organization focused on building creative and professional skills through mentorship and workshops. I also served as Vice President of the RedPrint Step Team and worked in the CAP Fab Lab as a 3D printing technician and laser-cut trainer.
One of my most meaningful roles was serving as an architecture teaching fellow, where I assisted in ECAP studios and mentored first-year students. I learned just as much from them as they did from me—their curiosity reminded me why I fell in love with this field in the first place.
Looking back, I’m more certain than ever that I chose the right major. Architecture challenged me to think critically, design intentionally, and problem-solve creatively—skills that have carried into every part of my life.
Along the way, I was honored to be named a Top 25 Student and to become a finalist in the 2024 MKM Steel Competition. I won third place in the TEG Awards, received the Andrew Zable Architecture Scholarship, and the Standerford & Jewel Fund. I was also inducted into the Tau Sigma Delta National Honor Society, which recognizes students in the top 20 percent of their class, and honored as an Alpha Rho Chi Medalist, which recognizes graduating architecture students for their leadership and service. My work was showcased at the National Conference on the Beginning Design Student, and my portfolio was selected as an example for incoming students.
None of this happened because the road was easy. It happened because I refused to give up when it wasn’t.
After graduation, I’m excited to move to Indianapolis and rejoin Rottmann Collier Architects, where I’ve interned multiple times. I’m looking forward to continuing my licensing journey with a team that has already played a meaningful role in my growth.
To anyone just starting out: the struggle is real—but so is everything waiting for you on the other side of it.
– Brodie Budzinski
