When applying to firms after graduating from grad school, I was immediately struck by the culture at Civitas. During my interview, I spoke to every member of leadership, which isn’t typical during the interview process for design firms, and it was clear how much they valued their employees. I could also tell that their intentions were always rooted in doing the best job to help the communities we were serving, which was very important to me.
Understanding the project’s context and the community’s needs is the most important part of the design process for me. I love to discuss the design site with the community who will use it in the future. I also strive to ensure that what I’m designing makes sense in the context of the site’s history and the story we are trying to tell.
While pursuing my MLA degree at Knowlton School, a professor from the Netherlands, Paula Meijerink, profoundly impacted me. At the time, her primary research on the materiality of landscape included the introduction of organic life into hostile, human-altered environments within the context of human experience, and she investigated urban forests as the discipline’s most effective means to address climate change while improving the health and wellness of people. Completing my third-semester design project under her guidance made me think about what kind of urban environment is more ecological and what kind of design methods can achieve this goal.
After I joined Civitas, the other designers greatly influenced my design approach. Compared to other firms, Civitas is a collaborative environment, so even though I am one of the newer designers, I’m allowed to learn and develop my skills on each project.
My proudest accomplishments have been studying and living abroad. Before I came to the United States for graduate school, I had never lived outside of China or away from my family, so I’m proud of myself for making that move despite the culture shock.
In the short term, I’d like to become a registered landscape architect in Colorado. I’d also like to be more involved in ecologically driven projects in the long term.
I enjoy working on projects that make a difference for people, either socially or ecologically. Those kinds of projects are always complicated, and it’s very rewarding to help solve issues for people through design.
I enjoy hiking on weekends and exploring mountain towns with friends. At home, I love to do puzzles and have recently taken up swapping postcards with people all over the world.
I love podcasts and listen to them all the time. I’ve been listening to “Flow Women’s Club,” which is about two women from Hong Kong living abroad and talking about the differences in lifestyles they have experienced living in different countries.
The region I grew up in had many spicy specialty dishes, so I love to recreate them at home. I also love to cook Italian food. I really like going to the farmer’s market to try different fresh ingredients.
My phone. I use maps to drive everywhere and navigate traffic.
I have a pen holder that rotates and allows me to keep a lot of different types of pens, so that is a must for my desk. The office cat also likes to hang out on my desk.