Academics

This summer I went to live abroad in Spain. I had an amazing time learning and experiencing many things about their quality of life. This trip was important to me because it is my culture. Although I look the part, I have not had the pleasure of partaking in it. For most of my life, I have been "the Hispanic girl," but when I was there, I was the American girl. So, I decided to take the opportunity to embrace both the Hispanic and New Mexican-American parts of me. 

My project combines some of my great passions: photography and architecture. In Spain, I shot many pictures of their buildings. I also have a collection of photos from New Mexico. I hope to eventually make my own building. But for right now, I am planning. 

For the past three weeks of school, we have been preparing and researching for our projects. We are only in the beginning, but I can already see the progress of my project.

This month, we are starting to move into the next steps with our projects. I am starting to look for interviews and trying to land an internship with a local architecture firm. I have also been shooting more and more photos around Albuquerque. Thanks to Mr. Ausherman’s class, I had the opportunity to shoot in a new, inspiring place. All of the buildings showed both the New Mexico culture and modern functionality that I have been looking for. I also went to Old Town to take photos. I chose Old Town because it has some of the oldest buildings in New Mexico. This month, I have also made the decision to shoot my photos with a film camera only. After watching A Photographer's Journey by Pedro E. Guerrero, I came to the realization that my phone does not suffice for the pictures I am trying to capture. The quality of photos I produce on my phone is nowhere near the photos I shoot in film. 

I enjoy listening to my other classmates' findings and ideas, and I hope that I can build up a collection to show them. Although we are still in research, I think I am moving in the right direction with my project. 

Throughout the month of October, I have taken some big steps towards my goal. Although this month has gone by so fast, I have found the time to get an interview, shoot more photos, and even land my first job. I will be working with a local New Mexican Restaurant, called Cocina Azul, on remodeling their original location. The restaurant is trying to give a more welcoming and cultural ambiance. I have already met with Evelyn Barela (the owner) on all of the remodeling details and even formed a blueprint. I am still in the planning stages and have to come up with some new creative ideas, but overall, it's a huge step in the right direction.

This month, I also had to present my project to the school. At first, it didn’t seem like anyone really cared, but after, I had many teachers tell me they had connections and could help me. I also had a lot of the 8th graders approach me with questions about the program. Although they are young, they had a huge interest, and I hope I helped them with their questions.

Overall, this month has been successful, and I feel that my project is improving more and more each month.

With the semester coming to an end, I find my schedule filling up quickly. My project took a slight halt, and now it is crunch time. I have talked to the owner of Cocina Azul, and together, we decided to move forward with the remodel and have started to purchase decor. We still need to find and meet with a contractor, but everything else is in motion. Our goal is to start the remodel in December. We have considered the pause in the remodel due to the holidays and decided that it will be after. 

This month, I have made the decision to make changes to my project. While interviewing Mr. Touma, he told me about his projects and how he runs his class. "When building anything, you must consider who you are building it for. You have to collect data on them before you start any sort of design" (Mr.Touma). These words made me question my original project because I needed to consider who or what I was making this building for. The changes I made to my project are small but essential. During the second semester, I will practice these skills by designing a small house for myself. With Mr. Touma's help, I will even make a model. This is important and necessary to prepare for my big building project. Although this was a slow month for my project, overall, I am thrilled with the work I have done.

I have made immense progress throughout the semester and feel happy with my current state. I started by taking photos for research and slowly getting myself ready for my building design. As I started to do the mandatory research, I learned more about what I wanted to do with my project. After interviewing Mr. Touma, I realized what that was. I started to research more about design than photography. Although photography is a big part of my project, I want to focus on the process of designing and building. I have researched how to make blueprints, the history of architecture, and how to create architectural sketches through different sites. After this research, I even landed my first minor project with a New Mexican restaurant called Cocina Azul. Since then, my project has started moving forward.

This semester has been a trial and error for me. There have been a lot of rough patches throughout the process, and I have needed help with time management, including keeping focus during our times. My project felt more hands-on towards the beginning of the year, and with all of the mandatory research, I was very reluctant to work on research ideas and the annotated bibliography. Especially with my other school commitments, it felt insignificant. Soccer took much time out of me the first few months, leaving me with little motivation to move forward with my project. These problems made me rethink my project so that I loved it enough to have the motivation to move forward. I had to refocus and remember why I was willing to put two years and effort into a singular project. These were challenging obstacles to overcome, but I have been successful even with all of that.  

My research was extensive but very helpful. I read an article that listed ten architectural buildings that changed America. This helped me understand the evolution of architecture in New Mexico. Another beneficial source was my interview with Mr. Touma. Together, we came up with a plan to execute my project. We decided that I would pitch my building as a new Mexican next step in architecture. I will present a presentation to the architectural arts staff and get feedback on my project before I start my design. Another essential thing that Mr. Touma brought to my attention was the purpose of my building because it is essential to know these things before designing. Next semester, I will start on this presentation and use all that I have learned from my research to start my home design.

My most considerable interest this semester was the restaurant remodel. The Cocina Azul atmosphere was very homey, and it was nice to witness a community that loved each other so much. I felt very comfortable being there with them and learning under their wing. The story of the restaurant and its building structure was fascinating. The owner was straightforward with what she wanted to do with the building, and I am happy that I was picked for the job.

Overall, the whole process of the first semester went well. My project is on its way, and I am very excited to see what I can do. As the semester stops, the past few months have ultimately been advantageous.

This month is an Odyssey; I have been pretty busy. In English class, we have a project that is on researching icons from the years 1950-2000. My icon is on Frank Lloyd Wright. Although he did pass away in the 1950's, I am researching his impact and his architecture's impact on the world. Frank Lloyd Wright was a fantastic architect, and his buildings are still very influential in today's day and age. Because both of these projects are architecture-based, I will utilize both classes and use the two projects to help each other. For my English project, I will be building a scale model of one of Wright's builds. This will act as a practice in the design process and prepare me for my ultimate project. So far, I have researched him and am now working on finding what building to recreate. I have also started the design process with Mr. Touma and find it very useful. Hopefully, I will be more than prepared to build my final project by next year.

We also visited the UNM architecture library for Odyssey. It was a fantastic experience, and I found many books that I could utilize for my project. It was a short trip, so I plan to return soon. I have also secured an interview with Penny Dudley. She has an architecture firm in Albuquerque called Penny Design, LLC. She attended the University of Arizona for her bachelor's. I am excited to meet her and get her opinions and experiences in this field. This month has been very eventful, and I am excited for more to come.

The month of February went by very fast. I have had an excessive homework load and I have not given enough time to my Odyssey project. Although this month has felt like a roadblock in my project, I have managed to make a few accomplishments. I have secured the interview with Penny Dudley. Last month I reached out but did not hear back from her. I am very excited to talk to her. I am also currently working on a new interview opportunity with architect Alvin Jaramillo. He is a Latino/New Mexican architect that now works out of Arizona. Like me, the Jaramillo family has been in New Mexico for many generations. I do not know a lot about his work but I am excited to possibly learn.

Another interesting update for this month doesn't really have much to do with my project but has to do with my icon project. I have officially started my process on building a scale model. I learned that my friend Camilla’s icon, Frank Gehry, was the architect that made the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Fun fact, I have actually been there! I also shared with her that my icon Frank Lloyd Wright made the Guggenheim in New York. Together, we decided to collaborate on our projects in a way. We will compare our architects through our buildings, while still showing these architects' differences. I have finished my floor plan sketches and moved on to making them to scale. This is a big step for me because I get to practice this process and eventually start my own design after spring break.