Page 17 - BusinessWest August 7, 2023

to UMass and earning a bachelor’s degree in sustainable commu- nity development. Today, Hermida works at Uncommon Architec- tural Places, founded by Alfonso Nardi, an adjunct professor in the STCC architecture program.
In addition to professors Nardi and Hall, the program’s faculty includes Jennifer DeForge, now the program coordinator, who grad- uated from STCC in 2009 with an associate degree in civil engi- neering technology and is working on her second master’s degree.
“Working in the architecture and building technology program has been one of the best career decisions I could have made,” DeForge said. “Every day, I work with our students and fellow col- leagues, who are some of the most driven individuals I have met, and I’m lucky enough to share my design and building experience with them and watch them move onto some incredible positions in the building industry and continuing their education in architecture and building technology.”
Hermida plans to pursue her architecture license and a master’s degree. STCC provided a solid foundation for her continuing educa- tion, she said. “I was really impressed about how complete the pro- gram was. They packed a lot into two years.”
The program has drawn other international students. Obed Otabil and Asra Afzaal both graduated in 2018. Otabil hails from Ghana, while Afzaal grew up in Pakistan.
Otabil attended UMass to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He is taking time off to raise a child, but hopes to work at an architectural firm and own his own firm one day.
“All the training I received from Springfield Tech was very help- ful,” Otabil said. “Having the basic knowledge about architecture actually helped me sail through the undergrad program pretty smoothly.”
Afzaal left Pakistan to pursue educational opportunities in the U.S. She entered the U.S. educational system as an 11th-grader
in high school and then found the STCC architecture and build- ing technology program. Like Otabil, Afzaal went to UMass and received her bachelor’s degree in building and construction tech- nology. In March 2023, she moved to Texas to work for an archi- tecture, planning, and design firm as the space planner and project
planner.
“STCC was the base, the foundation. And then on top of it, I laid
the layers,” she said. “My basics were so strong that I was able to build on it and learn more and more. And I am so grateful that I was in the architecture program at STCC.”
Michael Caine, a 2016 graduate of the architecture and build- ing technology program, later earned his master of architecture professional degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from UMass Amherst.
Today, he lives in Philadelphia and works as a lead conceptual designer for an architectural firm that focuses on multi-family resi- dential projects. He describes his conceptual work as “the dream job of architecture.”
Caine enrolled at STCC in part because the college is the most affordable in Springfield. He didn’t know what he would major in when he started, but later discovered the architecture and building technology program was a good fit.
“It is really unique to have an architecture department at a com- munity college,” he said. “Having the exposure to architecture at such an early stage in an academic career of higher ed is really ben- eficial. It allows that barrier of entry to really be demolished.
“It was really beneficial for me to get the exposure and the breadth of knowledge to be career-ready at such an early stage. For me, that was really beneficial. After my first semester at STCC, I was able to win an internship, and from there, just learning both the technical side at school, but also the practical side during work while going to school, was the one-two punch.”
Caine said he is proud to call himself a graduate of STCC’s 10-year-old architecture and building technology program, and he recommends it to anyone interested in a career in building con- struction or design.
“It’s a super-unique program,” he said. “The way that professors Warren Hall, Jennifer DeForge, and Al Nardi have shaped it over the years is really something special. When I transferred to UMass, I had all these skills they weren’t even teaching over there until later down the road.” BW
“I’m lucky enough to share my design and building experience with them and watch them move onto some incredible positions in the building industry and continuing their education
in architecture and building technology.”
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