I grew up in Cottonwood and while in the 4th Grade, I told my Sunday School Teacher I was going to be an Architect!
After graduating from high school in Red Bluff, I followed my sister to college in LA. It only took a semester to realize it wasn’t a good fit for me and I came home.
I was floundering around deciding what to do next as the spring semester slipped away. I met with my elementary school science teacher and he suggested I attend Shasta College. “It’s right here. And while you’re trying to figure what you’re doing next, you could chip away at some general ed classes.”
At the time, I was a pretty good student and I remember signing up for an “easy A” by taking a drafting class. I ended up getting a “C” on the first assignment, which was devastating! Coming to Shasta College and being humbled by that first class was a good life lesson for me that carried forward into my professional life. When I started my own firm, I needed mentors, research, and learning to bridge the gap in professional knowledge. That art of persevering has been a stepping stone to success.
I completed my general ed classes while at Shasta College, but also loaded my schedule with pretty much every art class offered at the time. One of the art instructors, Richard Wilson, was inspiring and instrumental in my path to becoming an architect. Early on, I told him I was interested in pursuing architecture and he would reference it off and on, which really helped cultivate the dream again.
After Shasta College, I transferred to Chico State, where I worked for an architect. He hired me to run his computer drafting program and regularly tried to talk me out of becoming an architect. The more he discouraged it, the more I wanted to pursue it. He knew what he was doing! Arizona State University was the final step in my educational journey, since they offered a Masters of Architecture for unrelated bachelor degree recipients.
Now, my oldest son is getting ready to graduate from high school and we’ve been suggesting that Shasta College may be a great fit for him to complete general ed classes, explore interests, and figure out the direction he may want to go next.
Shasta College was a great path to success for me and I’m glad I went to Shasta College!