The Intensity<\/h3>\n
\u201cI believe the summer program is intense for a reason. It shows your passion and your devotion to what you really love and want to do,\u201d said Steven Whitmore, a rising second-year graduate architecture student. Adds student Geneva Hill, \u201cI think the type of people that get attracted to this program are intrinsically, in some sense, masochists.\u00a0 We love the feel of pushing ourselves beyond what even seems possible.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day you walk away feeling as if you\u2019ve had an out of body experience, you had no idea that type of perseverance was part of you.\u00a0 You\u2019ll shock yourself who you can be.\u00a0 The lack of sleep, the stress, the never ending design process – you begin to crave it.\u00a0 It\u2019s a constant reminder of the possibilities for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n When Jason Cole started the program he believed his greatest skills coming to UT were \u201ctechnical drawing knowledge as well as building system knowledge,\u201d yet throughout his study he believes he gained the \u201cability to deal with people and get things accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know you can work on something so much longer, make it that much better, but you have to learn to do the best with the time constraints,\u201d notes graduate architecture student Ryan Stechman.<\/p>\n \u201cThe summer program builds excellent work ethic,\u201d adds Jared Wilkins. \u201cBy the end, students feel extremely accomplished. The summer program truly shows a student what he or she is capable of doing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout the summer course, I learned time management, gained a stronger work ethic, learned how to be decisive under pressure, learned how to use the resources at hand, including my peers to finish what needed to be done,\u201d said Whitmore.<\/p>\n One of the characteristics of study at the College of Architecture and Design is its sense of community. Through the studio environment, students create relationships that both foster friendships and promote collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile many of my peers did not know each other, and all of us come from very diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, the studio was a very communal experience,\u201d said Whitmore.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the intensity and demand of the program, it was more dependent on using our knowledge and abilities to collectively help each other finish the task at hand, teaching and learning from each other as we go.\u201d<\/p>\n With a great faculty to student ratio, students also develop relationships with their professors.<\/p>\n \u201cThey offered knowledge, encouragement, challenge and a complete investment in my future,\u201d said graduate landscape architecture student Angelike Angelopolous. \u201cI had never experienced someone so willing and determined to make me a better designer, student and overall person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe diversity and incredible array of experience of the professors here is what makes this program so incredible,\u201d notes Eric Archer, a second-year graduate architecture student. \u201cI feel like I have learned more about design in the last 12 months here than I did in 48 months of my undergraduate program.\u201d<\/p>\n Making the decision to pursue a graduate education can be tough. Students will ask themselves: What does this mean for my career? Will I be able to manage life as an adult, with a job and\/or family? Will there be value gained for my future?<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cAt this stage in my life, starting a new career path is probably one of the hardest decisions I\u2019ve ever had to make, and also one of the easiest,\u201d said Cole. \u201cArchitecture is in by blood, and I was doing myself a disservice by not pursuing it sooner. If it is the right thing to do, then nothing else matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Adds Hill: \u201cIt\u2019s overwhelming starting something entirely new as an adult.\u00a0 My undergraduate degree was entirely unrelated to architecture; I had a mortgage, a steady job, and adult responsibilities. I was taking a huge chance starting over, but I am exactly where I hoped I would be when I started the summer program. I could have just settled for what I had, but I would have regretted it always.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking on the summer program comes with some final advice and comments from past students:<\/p>\n \u201cErase any plans in your summer and prepare for the most difficult thing you\u2019ve ever done,\u201d said Archer. \u201cWhen it is over, you will likely feel more accomplished and more rewarded than you ever have in your life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOpen your mind, let go of what you thought you knew and embrace this scary endeavor; things will fall into place and you won\u2019t even know it,\u201d adds Angelopolous. \u201cYou will work, and hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Also practical advice from Angelopolous: \u201cWise words from Chuck Draper [her summer studio instructor]: \u2018Draw more. Love thy classmate.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n To learn more about the activities of our graduate programs visit and like their Facebook pages, Landscape Architecture<\/a> and Architecture<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Images from the 2012 Summer Program. Students went to Cranbrook and Detroit for their “study week.”<\/p>\n [showcase slug=”retrospective-of-2012-summer-program”] Graduate Studies at the UT College of Architecture and Design It is June in the Art + Architecture Building. You are starting your graduate education at the University of Tennessee. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"passster_activate_protection":false,"passster_protect_child_pages":"","passster_protection_type":"password","passster_password":"","passster_activate_overwrite_defaults":"","passster_headline":"","passster_instruction":"","passster_placeholder":"","passster_button":"","passster_id":"","passster_activate_misc_settings":"","passster_redirect_url":"","passster_hide":"no","passster_area_shortcode":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,32,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-graduate-architecture","category-landscape-architecture","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Steven](\"http:\/\/archdesign.utk.edu\/assets\/STEVEN1.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/a><\/p>\nThe Unanticipated Skills<\/h3>\n
<\/figure><\/a><\/p>\nThe Relationships<\/h3>\n
<\/figure><\/a><\/p>\nThe Game Changer<\/h3>\n
<\/figure><\/a>The summer program quiets these questions, allowing students to believe in and pursue their passions.<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
The Journey Ahead<\/h3>\n
\n—
\nC O N T A C T:
\nKiki Roeder, director of communications
\nContributions by Geneva Hill, graduate research assistant, and George Dodds, associate dean of academic affairs and research<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"