Mentor Interview

I had a great experience interviewing my mentor. I thought it would be just like a usual interview, but it turned out to be something very different. I really enjoyed hearing what James had to say, and typing it all out was cool too. I went in with a list of questions, but came out with an almost 2,000 word, declamatory, speech if you will. Basically, I asked him the first question, and tried my best to type his every word. From just asking one question, James answered most all my other questions. After that, I decided to go through and pick out the best words that answered my questions.

-Please tell me a little about yourself.

“I’m 47, and I love my wife of 16 years Tammy. I have 4 kids, and I love being a dad. I love the Lord, and I endeavor to be like him. I live in San Marcos, I play piano, keyboard and organ. I have conservative views…. I'm the kind of person who stands for what they believe and I’m willing to talk about those things, and though my mind is made up in a lot of ways, I’m always open to persuasion. If I was effectively in any are, political, architectural or otherwise. If you don't stand for something you don't fall for anything.”

-Tell me about this organization/company.

CTA is a very diverse company; we expand a wide range of projects, so that’s helped up in the downturn of the economy. We do focus on like private Christian buildings and we work with a diverse array of clients, and good communication skills have helped us achieve that.

-How long have you worked here?

That comments is tongue and cheek, but there is a lot to love about the business and I usually don’t love it if I get behind or miss a deadline and then it starts becoming unpleasant, but I suppose that’s true for any industry. CTA is in its 7th year, and was founded by Andy Taylor and myself.

-What is a typical work day like?

We work on a diverse number of projects, and we number them sequentially…and we're up to project 279. So in those seven years we've done 279 projects. We've been blessed in these slower times that we have 3 new projects that just came up, and we'll get that number to 282. I don’t usually plan my days, but I plan my week and execute my week. It’s easier to plan your week instead of day. You're out a lot, or you’re in production mode so it depends…It gets really challenging, but if you got 2 or 3 things going at once, you got to do it and if you got nothing going on you have to get the work. But then, you have to do the work and that’s a challenge, and it presents its various challenges, and of course you have to get paid for the work, and sometimes that’s a challenge but hopefully not.

-What skills and training are necessary for your position?

There is a lot of diverse knowledge and you need to be skilled. Communication is so crucial. You have to be bold and be willing to ask the hard questions, or sound dumb or whatever. Just go for it. You can't let fear stop you. And if you are going to fail, fail big. Crash and burn. Some of the best lessons are in times of failures.


-What college did you attend?

I graduated from San Diego State University, go Aztecs...I guess. I started in engineering, moved to the industrial arts department, and landed in the art department. I graduated with a degree in environmental design, and I suppose of note, is that I actually got my license to do architecture 2 years before I got my degree in environmental design. It’s a myth that many people think you have to have a degree in architecture to become an architect, but this is not true. Although their requirements have changed in recent years, a degree is still not needed, but rather 8 years of combined experience that can be gotten in many ways. The most effective is time under the direct supervision of a licensed architect.

-What or who inspires you?

I consider myself form the Frank Lloyd Wright school, and I really appreciate the ingenuity and creativity and originality of his design work and whatever you may think of the man, like an arrogant sort of a fellow, you can't deny his art as significant, timeless and really important. In terms of the contribution he's made, I have a love of Japan like he did and he borrowed his architectural design from Japanese design. I think along those same lines.

-Do you consider a career in this area satisfying? In what ways?

…It beats digging ditches. That comments is tongue and cheek, but there is a lot to love about the business and I usually don’t love it if I get behind or miss a deadline and then it starts becoming unpleasant, but I suppose that’s true for any industry…Maybe 5% of the time are those great moments, where you have opportunities to do special, dynamic things.

-How important is getting along with others in this career?

Very important. Our philosophy here is one where we serve our clients needs and for the most part we do what were told to do…it’s our purpose to meet the needs of our customers and not to peruse our own arrogant wins.

-What advice do you have about working in the field of Architecture?

Really bad things can happen to a design, and maybe the most important role as an architect or as the conductor of the architecture symphony if you will, is that the architect is still there. And I’ve come to know that it is no small task to do successfully. When it is done successfully, the reward is outstanding and there is personal satisfaction…. In all fairness, good projects only come from good clients. Yeah, you need to be a good architect, but a bad client will kill it. Kill any project. And a great builder helps too. As I’ve told you before, you can have the best set of plans and a lousy builder and you'll have a lousy building. Or you could sketch something out on a cocktail napkin and a great builder can make it sing.

First Impressions

What are you excited about learning through this internship experience?

I think I am most excited about learning the logistics of being an architect. After just one day, my mentor already told me so much about how being an architect is not just drawing and designing pretty pictures. He went on, listing the many different parts of the field of architecture, and it is somewhat overwhelming. I always knew that there was more to being an architect than just drawing pictures, but I never really knew how much more. I am also excited about learning more about how to use the program called Revit. Revit is a program used by about 20% of all firms, and it is basically the future of architecture. Instead of physically drawing up the plans, Revit helps you draw it up digitally. I have been using the program since about 11:00am, and I already have gone through many drafts, just figuring how it works. I am excited to actually start working with it more and more, and I know that Revit is probably going to be a big part of my life, should I one day become an architect.

My mentor James is really cool. He makes me feel comfortable and I know that I can ask him anything anytime. I already am feeling at home and welcome in the CTA office, and I am excited for what the next three weeks hold. Once the day was over, I couldn't believe that it had ended so quickly.