I thought that having an internship at Leigh Overland Architect would somehow be similar to the volunteer work that I have been doing for the past five years; but it’s not. I am now considered an employee while I am used to be the employee’s helper. Not the same.


Not even at my part-time job do I feel as welcome as in this firm. To be honest, I was not expecting my co-workers to have much consideration for me. I did not know how to print plots, make sets, I do not have authentic experience building houses, I have little to nothing in my architectural training and I do not completely understand everything that is on a floor plan. I only have a High School Diploma and I will not attend college until fall of 2012. The only thing I am good at (AutoCAD) has been taken away because they now use Revit for drawings. From my perspective, there is not much I can do, although I am willing to do anything. But apparently, the firm is used to interns. Actually, the firm allows a couple of High School interns to come during the week for the same reason I come, to get some experience.


On the first day, I had not even turned my computer on when Leigh already had work for me to do. As we walked through the lobby he started pointing out what he would like to fix and suggested me to change anything I felt needed a change within the lobby. If I wanted to change something, I could. If I wanted to move something, I could. So I did. I changed their lobby; same lobby, same walls, same furniture, only with a different look and more space. You could say that I have a certain gift, but I do not. Thanks to my sister, my grandmother and my mom, I have fulfilled my 10,000 hours. They were the ones that since I was seven, constantly needed to rearrange the furniture every month forever changing our living room.


However, I do not stay in this firm because I can do everything I am given. I stay in this firm because it offers me everything that I ask for. When applying for internships, I looked for a firm that did not focus on one type of construction, but several. I looked for a firm that seeks to decrease the carbon footprint, and who puts first the customer’s and community’s comfort rather than just increasing the firm’s benefits.


Every day I am more and more impressed with the firm’s devotion to the community, society and their impact in the world. As I drive around Connecticut I barely see houses whose windows are actually facing the trajectory of the sun. Even in my own home there are more windows in the shade and never touched by sunlight than in the side that always faces the sun. This, to me, only conveys the architect’s lack of interest to decrease the use of energy. My house’s simple rectangular-prism-shape merely conveys the architect’s lack of consideration for the community appearance and residents' comfort. This lack of consideration for comfort and energy use is never seen in Leigh’s designs. Even in his Facebook page, he has a question that says, “Does design really have an impact on society?” And indeed you can notice that in all of his designs there is a style that seeks to please the customer, fit society, improve the community, and depend as little as possible in electricity.