DTLA Personal Statement

I have spent the majority of my life watching my father’s garment business grow from a small shop in Santee Alley to a large warehouse on Broadway Street. Over the years, I have learned a lot about the culture of the inner city; I have had the opportunity to see the differences between my life growing up in Santa Monica and the life of the struggling families and homeless people who live downtown. Motivated by this to devote the majority of my high-school career to community service, I realize that by pursuing architecture, I can make the most positive impact on society. DTLA has, over a short period of time, turned from a nine-to-five area to a twenty-four-seven neighborhood and is becoming denser with about 20,000 residencies either under construction or in planning. Although residential housing units have tripled, homeless rates have spiked. During this time more than ever, city planners and architects have to work with the existing communities to develop the city. I believe that architects must think of innovative ways to integrate existing neighborhoods with supportive housing for the homeless. I want to use ingenuity and
My stage-craft courses taught me how to bring my imagination to life on the sets of our school plays. My position on the yearbook staff allowed me to master Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. And lastly, the hours I have spent serving homeless, disabled, elderly, and sick people in my community have opened my eyes to the countless opportunities for growth within the environment that our population inhabits. The job of an architect can be more than one of aesthetics; an architect can assist in public concerns. By understanding the power that an architect has, I want to design hospitals that better patient experience and healing, schools that feed the creativity of students, and homes that improve happiness and