我们欢迎堪萨斯州立大学的新实习生:Ben Yerich

Currently a fourth-year student at 堪萨斯 State University, Ben joins DMA for a 6-month internship. 对建筑和历史充满热情, 在其他科目中, 他渴望在我们这里学到很多东西，我们一定会做到的!

1. 你是哪里人?

我出生在堪萨斯州的曼哈顿，在那里住了几个月. 然后我搬到了玄武岩, 在科罗拉多待了几年, 回到曼哈顿直到我五岁, and then grew up in the South Denver area in Highlands Ranch and Lone Tree, 科罗拉多州. I attended and graduated from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, 科罗拉多州.

2. 是什么激发了你想成为一名建筑师?

我成长在一个非常有创造力的家庭, 花了很多时间与我的兄弟和表兄弟一起从事艺术工作. My father has worked in construction for nearly 30 years and I began working with him during the summers when I was in high school. I wanted to use the skills I developed when I was younger to help other people. 上大学后不久, 我非常喜欢历史建筑及其对文明的影响, 所以我决定在2019年夏天把我的专业换成建筑. 从那时起, I have really found a passion in design and being able to use my skills to help people has been so rewarding.

2. 你是哪里的学生?

I am currently a student at 堪萨斯 State University in 建筑学院, 规划, 和设计 pursuing my master’s degree in Architecture with a minor in Business Administration. 我是一名四年级学生，预计毕业日期为2023年5月.

3. 你为什么想要实习? 为什么在DMA?

I wanted to do an internship because of the experience I would gain working in the real world. There are a lot of things that school has taught me over the last three years, 但也有很多事情它没有做到. Working for an established firm would allow me to improve as a designer and learn valuable information to take into my final year of school. 我选择DMA是因为他们的工作质量和类型. 在学校, we tend to focus on more hypothetical design and the broader picture of a project. DMA’s work on residential and other non-residential project shows a high quality of detail and importance that is overlooked in school. I’ve always enjoyed the smaller details and quality of work and I believe DMA was the best option for me to learn more about architecture. Their work really reflects their design philosophy and work ethic and that was a big reason I wanted to join their team. 我还发现这家公司的规模很吸引人, being able to work personally with the entire firm fit my style of learning more than working in a large firm. 我真的很喜欢这个办公室里每个人的那种关系. Some non-professional reasons for wanting to work for DMA relate to being here in Jackson, Wyoming. 在科罗拉多长大真是太棒了, and getting to live in the Rocky Mountains has been something I have wanted to get back to.

4. 关于你的学习，你有什么特别想分享的吗?

我真的为我在堪萨斯州立大学的项目感到骄傲. 我一直很感激堪萨斯州立大学, 建筑学院, 规划, 和设计, 以及所有支持我专业课程的人. I really believe I am getting a high quality education and am constantly learning and growing as a person. 我在我的同学和同龄人中也看到了这一点, everyone pushes each other to be better designers and are constantly supportive of everyone. 我相信同学之间的气氛, 同行, 朋友, 教授, 管理是无与伦比的，我很自豪能成为其中的一员.

5. 你会帮我们做什么? 

我打算好好利用DMA给我的每一个机会. I hope to make the most of my experience and help positively impact everyone in the office. My goal is to take what I will learn and apply it later in my professional career.

I will also be working on a research thesis during my internship for school. The topic of this research should not only benefit my academic career but also DMA. 由于该地区的气候和环境的高度影响, I plan on researching an aspect of design within extreme climates like here in Jackson. 希望我的研究不仅对我的学术生涯有益, 还有DMA和其他在这个领域工作的人.

6. 有什么让你感到惊讶的吗. 学校环境?

是的,肯定. 如前所述，学校关注的是一个项目更广泛的范围. 通常不需要担心预算问题, 材料的选择, 或者和这个行业的其他人一起工作，比如工程师, 承包商 & 分包商和业主. Being exposed to a business environment has really helped me understand the logistics and reality of architecture. 在学校, there is a common language that can easily be understood by everyone; both visual and verbal. 这让我们变得过于有创造力，而不用担心外部的清晰度. 在现实世界中，并不是每个人都说同一种语言. Consistent and clear work is something DMA really prides themselves on and learning their language has changed how I think about architecture and how to communicate it to others not in the business. 我真的知道它有多重要了, 不仅是为了让每个人都了解这个设计, 而是创造一个建立新关系的环境. 这是我学到的另一件非常重要的事情, 我认为DMA在这方面非常成功.

7. 告诉我们一个你参与的具有挑战性的项目，并且你感到满意.

A challenging project I have worked on was this past semester (Fall 2021) in my Architectural Design Studio V at 堪萨斯 State. 在Chad Schwartz教授的指导下, 我们的任务是研究, 设计, and detailing a co-housing complex for domestic violence survivors in Topeka, 堪萨斯. 这个项目有10个住宅单元, 社区区域, 管理空间, 社区日托所, 还有一个二级公共项目. It was a semester long project that required both professional and empathetic maturity. 由于这个话题的敏感性，了解用户是至关重要的. 在设计过程中, 我学到了更多关于如何为人们设计的知识, rather than to create interesting architecture which I found really beneficial as a designer. This project challenged me to think from other’s perspectives and design in a way that was not only secure, 但也能治愈和吸引人. Working with domestic violence advocate and expert Margaret Hobart was also another great experience, her insight on balance between rehabilitation and personal growth among survivors allowed everyone’s designs to improve dramatically. It has been by far my favorite project in school and I feel my work really reflected the work I put in. 就在DMA待了几周之后, I have really wanted to revisit the project and improve from what I have learned.

8. 你最喜欢的社交媒体平台是什么?

我最喜欢的社交媒体平台是Instagram或Twitter. I enjoy sports a lot, so I mostly use it for keeping up with my favorite teams. I am not very active when it comes to posting publically but I do enjoy using it.

9. 你在空闲时间喜欢做什么?

在我空闲的时候, I really enjoy watching sports (specifically my school’s teams) especially football and basketball. 我也喜欢去K-State橄榄球队, 篮球, 女子足球比赛和其他大学活动. 我也喜欢运动和花时间与朋友. 我也是媒体和电影的忠实粉丝. I love Star Wars and Marvel and spend a lot of time watching and learning about that. 历史是我的另一大兴趣, I enjoy watching historically based shows and documentaries and have a passion for learning about ancient civilizations, 比较宗教, 和文化. I have three dogs and a cat, so I also spend quite a bit of time around animals! 我喜欢射箭、钓鱼、打猎，也喜欢户外活动.

10. 你还有什么想分享的吗?

I’m excited to get to know everyone here at DMA and enjoy my time in Jackson!