1991
At the time in Jamaica, there was no undergraduate degree in architecture provided anywhere in the country. I had friends who had gone to CCNY before, who told me about their experience there. It seemed like a very good fit to finish my architectural education. I came to CCNY as an international student. I came in at the upper junior, so it became very important to find out how to navigate the system in the School of Architecture and on the campus. I had to make sure I was getting the right credits and understanding my teachers. The friendships on campus, specifically in the Architectural Department, were very strong. My classmates had the advantage of knowing that before, because they had been at the school since their freshman year. I found them very forthcoming and very gracious with their time to let me know what their experiences were. There were certain classes I had to take that they had taken before. The information sharing was really great. I was getting the kind of guidance that I would think would be on the level of a guidance counselor from my peers. That was a great experience. I was just on a Zoom call yesterday with alumni from the School of Architecture. The ideas of egalitarianism and reaching out to all different communities for viewpoints was very strong at public schools. I think CCNY, as well as the School of Architecture, are very strong ideals in regards to serving the community. I think that fosters the whole approach of architecture. I have a preference for community-based projects. I've been working on schools for the most part. I am a principal level architect. I also have a sole proprietor practice called WHiP Architecture, so I practice on my own for about five years. Before that I was working for all different firms at different levels. I think the appreciation for public architecture was really forged when I was at CCNY School of Architecture.