My first introduction to the larger world of design came from a high school freshman shop class, which shared a studio with a design and drafting class. I as I built my prized walnut birdhouse, I watched upperclassmen turn AutoCAD models into chipboard skyscrapers. This shop space became a solace from more rigid academics. At 17, I got accepted into an introduction to architecture course at Catholic University in Washington D.C.

With a romantic notion of architecture school, I put a motorcycle in the back of a pickup truck and drove for three days to a place I had never been. With all the optimism and transcendental ideals an 18 year old can have, I started a life in Montana.

The first summer away from home, I responded to an ad for an entry level job at a saw mill. This mill happened to be owned by a construction company (OSM) that specialized in very high-end mountain homes in Jackson Hole, WY; Big Sky, MT; and across the Mountain West. My emerging architectural education and work ethic earned me an apprenticeship on a carpentry crew. I tried to blend my architectural education with a leaned trade. It taught me the importance of constructible designs.

I finished undergrad with plans of grad school in the spring of 2020 when the world ground to a halt. The summer inside made me long for the cold mornings on the mountains. My internship at MFGR gave me this opportunity gave me the opportunity to swing a hammer again. My internship and later work at MFGR taught me to design, invent, weld and draw. Then, any work I had done was immediately, and sometimes catastrophically, tested during install and build. This immediate success or failure quickly built my design muscles.

During my free time I still love wood work. When I can’t be creative any more, I ride dirt bikes and motorcycles in the mountains.

I would really like to find a place that values my architectural background and education and understanding of specialized construction. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I also want to be in a design role.