Then and Now. My Journey into Architecture and Design.

By Tara D. Loughman

Looking back, I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. For me this was always a simple choice. I grew up in a family in the construction business and was constantly around all sorts of construction sites. Of course when I was younger I hated it and wanted nothing to do with it, but as time progressed I knew it was something I wanted to do.

One thing that was always constant in our house was me rearranging my room and any other room in the house I could get a hold of. I was always building things with my little cousins Lego sets. Of course I played with Barbie’s but only to build and decorate their houses; then I was done. After awhile, I needed more of a challenge and started to do things around the house with my dad and grandpa. The more I got older, the more I wanted to design and construct new things; now I just needed more of a challenge.

After taking a few interior design classes in high school, I started to look at colleges that offered an interior design degree. My advisor suggested to me, a small, private design school downtown St. Louis. After looking at Patricia Stevens College, I knew it was a perfect fit. I graduated in March of 2006 with my associate’s degree and then went on to Maryville University to finish my bachelor’s degree. A year later, Patricia Stevens College, called me, telling me they now offer a bachelor’s degree and asked for me to come back. I did and was the first to graduate, with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Interior Design, at Patricia Steven’s College, in March 2009.

Immediately following graduation, I was already on my way to starting my master’s degree. I started classes at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the fall of 2009. For the first year I took several classes to level out from interior design to architecture. This summer was the official start of graduate classes and my current position as the graduate assistant in the AID Library.

Looking back to my years growing up around my dad and my grandpa, I can really see the inspiration they gave me in my career today. It’s really nice to look back and see all that I have accomplished thus far in my life and career. I can’t wait to one day be licensed as an Interior Designer and Architect and work within the fields that my family had once proudly worked for.