October 16, 2024

The AIA NJ Foundations Series Is Looking For New Contributing Writers

The very successful AIA New Jersey Foundations Series initiated by Past President Joshua Zinder, AIA, seeks new storytellers for upcoming editions.

The AIA NJ Public Awareness Committee has launched a blog series entitled “Foundations” and we are collecting stories from AIA NJ Members. We want to inspire and intrigue young architects, and young people to become architects and engage with the general public. Please sign-up to contribute and share tales of your education,  lessons, encounters, travels, and anecdotes – your key takes on life, your professional experience – whatever experiences have shaped you into the architect of today.

Some story ideas:

1. Seeing the Duomo, Ronchamp (Notre-Dame du Haut),  Brasilia, visiting your favorite or most impactful piece of architecture on your life and the impact it had on you.
2. A mentor story.
3. Visiting Prague and seeing a book your great-grandfather owned. 
4. The time you got caught in a bucket crane….
5. First municipal presentation….
6. Why you’re an architect…
7. Day 1 architecture school…
8. The time you were threatened to go into a concrete pour….
9. Erector sets, Pet Houses, Legos, Doll houses or Froebel blocks….
10. Your favorite project…
11. Your first job…
12. Or……?

Anything that makes you YOU, and how you got there. Think  “foundational”  and will the story be entertaining, encouraging, or educational for readers.

Stories should be a few paragraphs (no more than 750 words), ideally, in a word format. Please also include a JPEG with an associated photograph.  We would like the write-ups by November 20. (We will accept late entries as well.)  You can send the stories, and a photo or photos, to Stacey Kliesch at staceykliesch@gmail.com. We hope you will be able to contribute.  Please feel free to email us with questions, and do share this request with others in your firm or friends. 

Here are some examples of past posts: 

Ben Lee, AIA

William Martin, AIA

Joshua Zinder, AIA

Jason Vico, AIA

Our members have received positive feedback for participating, and you can too!  Check out Jason’s success story, sparked by the distribution of his Foundations story:

“Since the release of my foundation story blog across AIA-NJ’s website, newsletter, and social media, numerous events have happened. The most recent are as follows;

• Interview with my Alma Mater, Drexel University, as part of their Power Lunch Interview Series. Among their questions, they asked about my mentors. I credited AIA as a collective mentor for the support I received to become a licensed architect and advance my career.

• Discussion with the Drexel Architecture Department Heads about the current status of the program as well as the possible formation of an alumni board to help oversee the program, of which I will be a founding member. 

• Became a mentor in the Drexel’s LSAMP Alumni Mentorship Program, The Drexel-LSAMP Alumni Mentorship Program is an extension of the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation initiative. This program aims to provide mentorship to underrepresented STEM students, facilitating their growth and development through guidance from Drexel Alumni. Drexel-LSAMP is part of a national effort to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) students who successfully complete baccalaureate and advanced degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Drexel-LSAMP has been in existence at Drexel University since 1994 with funding provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF). I am really excited about this one!

• Became a mentor inside the Dragon Network, Drexel’s internal social media framework. When a student begins the architecture program, an automated welcome message is sent to them from my Dragon Network account. From this message, I am able to engage in dialogue with the students, answer any questions they may have about the program and offer advice if needed. It is another way for me to engage with emerging architects and help them on their path to licensure.

• Also, I still getting messages through social media asking for career advice, explaining how people are going through similar experiences to my journey and how my story has been inspirational to them to pursue their goals.

This has been a great experience, and very humbling at the same time. Thank you again for publishing my story and getting it out there to people to read!!!”

Jason L. Vico, AIA, NCARB, Principal, Fett – Vico AIA Architects PC

We hope you will join us as a contributing writer, and share your inspirational story with the next generation of Architects. Reply today to sign-up. 

By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in AIA-NJ News | Tagged: #AIANJ, #ArchitectOriginStories, #BenLeeAIA, #foundations, #jasonvicoaia, #JoshuaZinderAIA, #WilliamMartinAIA | Comments (0)