Each year architects from our office attend the National AIA conference. They hear best practices in the industry, network, visits projects, and come back invigorated. Here’s what this years Schmidt Associates attendees took away!

Sarah Hempstead, AIA, LEED AP

 “Michelle Obama talked about how it is our role as architects to make sure youth are introduced to the profession. Women all over the world, and the US, are looking for jobs. They can’t enter the industry if they don’t know the industry exists. It is our job to reach out and mentor youth.”

“This is part of the reason I serve on the Board for Junior Achievement of Central Indiana. JA has a program called JobSpark. Firms from various professional industries provide hands-on learning experiences to introduce local students to the career. Schmidt Associates was actively involved for the kick-off event and is helping plan the second annual JobSpark now. Working with IPS, we created an internship model that required every participating firm in IPS Capital projects to hire IPS interns. In fact, we are super proud that one of our old IPS interns is now at Ball State University, on her way to becoming an architect, and has returned to us this summer for another architectural internship!”

 

Wayne Schmidt, FAIA, HonD.

“The absolute best thing was Michelle Obama’s keynote. She was funny, intelligent, humorous, and insightful. She was the best!”

 

 

Ron Fisher, AIA, LEED AP

 “One of my favorite things to do at the conference each year is site visits. I enjoy seeing architectural solutions. A tour of the Daytona 500 Speedway was incredible. The Speedway features five main entrances, each with sponsorship rights for naming and branding the area. One was the Toyota Entrance featuring their vehicles, history of the firm, participation in racing, education about their manufacturing in the US, and more. It was intriguing to see the way the Speedway is designed to funnel the visitors throughout the grandstand.”

 

Desma Belsaas, AIA, LEED AP

” I was reinvigorated about all the good architects can do for the betterment of society. I got more inspired to do more writing when I attended a session about the Top 10 Things Architects can do other than architecture.”

 

 

Lisa Gomperts, FAIA, LEED AP

 “The session that stood out to me was about unique ways to engage the emerging professionals at your firm. It was a panel of millennials from architecture, engineering, and construction firms. They had created young professional development groups with chairs and co-chairs for learnings in networking, cultural events, continued education and more, all on a low budget. They found ways for their peers to get more involved at their firms, all while learning more about their career path.”