The Beginning of an End

By Anthony Michael

As students are finally getting into the groove of managing their education, and still maintaining some form of a social life the world of architecture at SIUC just keeps moving forward.  Time for an architecture student seems to drag on and move at a blinding pace all at the same time. 

Hello my name is Anthony Michael and I am a first year graduate student here at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  I just graduated with my bachelors in architecture from Southern just a few months ago, and over the summer semester I began the master’s program. 

It just seemed like a few days ago that I began my career as a student of architecture.  The time has flown by and I have made some of the best friends that I have ever had here in my short few years.  I can remember the first day of classes, man was I nervous, I mean I did not know anyone that was going to be in any of my classes, I did not know very much about architecture other than that building design was what was required. But I knew that I wanted to be an Architect someday. 

Ever since my family had built several of the house that I have lived in, I got to help with the construction and stood right next to my mom and dad when they were picking out the various materials and colors and textures that they wanted to install within the house.  I remember being able to visualize the colors on the walls, complimented with the wood trim and stone.  I remember thinking to myself that this is what I would love to do the rest of my life.  Thinking to myself that I could design spaces that give people various different emotions and thoughts.  

 Throughout my time here as an undergrad I have come to learn and gain an understanding that architects not only design buildings that look good.  But the buildings that they design have to meet the needs of the occupants, they have to respond to the user’s needs on a personal level and I believe that they need to make the user feel.  These feelings can make the user become more productive, the can hinder the user, and they can heal the user. 

Over the course of these few semesters I will be giving you an insight into my life as a graduate student making his transition from the education sector into the real world.