Nicholas is听from San Diego, California. He's a full-time student and spends his weekends with the Air National Guard. One thing he likes most about ENVD is the opportunity to make connections with professionals.
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Where are you from?
I鈥檓 from San Diego, California
Why did you choose to come to CU 麻豆影院?
The reason I chose to come to CU 麻豆影院 was that听I didn鈥檛 know anyone from Colorado. Everyone has their own time frames in life and I believe that at a certain age you realize what you really want to do. You understand听that even though you have a听circle of great friends, you need to be surrounded by the people that are pushing you to be better听or you need to remove yourself from everything that is distracting you from what you love and what you鈥檙e passionate about. You need to dive in head first, take a leap of faith and see if it works.
So, I moved from California to Colorado. I didn鈥檛 have a place to live at the time, so I lived in my Uhaul for a few days.听I applied for school and I got accepted, found a place to live, got a job, joined the military and made it work and now it鈥檚 three and half years later.
What drew you to the Program in Environmental Design?
I did some research on architecture because it was kind of my passion and I didn鈥檛 know where I wanted to go at first. I understood that CU Denver had a program but it was more of an MA instead of a BA, so I thought听鈥淥K! I can鈥檛 do that, so where can I go?鈥�
So, I started looking around at Front Range Community College and CU 麻豆影院. At the time, I had visited CU 麻豆影院 and seen a lot of upper division student work. I got to meet a few faculty members and sit in on听a few lectures. It just seemed really interesting, and the experience really drove me to understand that there are two spectrums of theory and form and ENVD was a mix of both.
What year of study are you in?
I鈥檓 in my third year and I鈥檓 in my praxis semester, which I鈥檓 really excited about. I鈥檓 specializing in landscape architecture, but I鈥檓 taking an architecture praxis, because the teacher, Marcel de Lange, is teaching us the business side of design. I want to be听well-rounded on the design side, but also know how to order听parts, materials and oversee general construction.
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What is a Praxis? 
A praxis听is a way to experience what it鈥檚 actually like to be a professional in design. By doing a praxis semester you get to dabble and understand what it鈥檚 like to work on a project at a professional level.
It鈥檚 kind of a small mockup. You have a smaller, more limited time-frame but I feel that can be a positive and negative. Having a smaller time-frame allows you to work better as a team because people separate the jobs out, just like it would happen in a firm. Not everybody is going to be good at drafting, not everybody is going to be good at rendering;听so it allows us to take on roles based on our skills. Each praxis class becomes its own tiny firm, because we鈥檙e working with ourselves, with our principals being our professors and people taking on specific roles as if they were professionals.
What do you like most about this major?
What I enjoy听most, is the opportunity to make connections with professionals, especially my professors, because in the end I believe听the more you have invested in听someone, the more you鈥檙e going to give them. So, the more connected I am with my professors the more excited I am about meeting their expectations. They appreciate听that I put a massive number听of hours into my work. And, it feels great to have听the opportunity to see听my final work surprise听them.
How do you stay involved on campus?
I鈥檓 going on my second semester of peer mentoring. It鈥檚 allowed me to understand what I lacked as a freshman and what I wanted to see from upperclassmen. I also work in the Digital Media Center, where I help听with printing, 3D printing and听Adobe software. I troubleshoot most of our digital platforms and assist students with any questions they have. I also get to听advance my own skills along the way, because I have to learn the programs to be able to help others.
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What do you like to do in your spare time, when you鈥檙e not on campus or in classes?
Travel! I'm in the military, so I get deployed and travel the world, kind of taking the opportunity to work hard and play hard. I believe that as long as I get good grades every year I should definitely reward myself, and I believe that the best way to reward yourself is by creating experiences, and not buying听things. By getting a stamp on my听passport I听get to immerse myself in other cultures and other people鈥檚 way of life and, especially in our degree, I'm听able to see different architecture from different countries. It鈥檚 kind of my go-to if I have the opportunity and money. I鈥檇 rather buy a plane ticket, leave for a week and come back with a great story to tell.
What branch of the military are you in?
I鈥檓 in the Air Force and I鈥檓 in the Air National Guard, so I鈥檓 kind of like a weekend warrior. I get to work two days a month, two weeks a year and get benefits for school tuition, health insurance etc鈥s well as opportunities to travel. Not to mention, I听get to be a little kid and an adult at the same time. I鈥檓 a fuel specialist for F-16 planes, like a glorified gas mechanic, so that means I get to take apart听giant jets. It鈥檚 like being a little kid again, but they鈥檙e really big 鈥渋mportant鈥� parts.
How does what you do in the military relate back to your major and vice versa?
I think that the military has been an avenue for exercising听my obsession with听detail. So, my attention to detail, which is a huge core value throughout the military in all branches, allows people to understand that when your professor says something that听you should probably take note of it, because that attention to detail will make a big difference. I believe this has made me a better student and a better person.
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What do you want to do when you graduate? 
It鈥檚 a huge debate for me at the moment. As my own toughest听critic, I believe that no matter what, I听can never be perfect or ready for a job, but I鈥檇 like to have all the answers that I听can. I would like to, in the long run, have the opportunity to intern, as well as eventually open听my own firm. I鈥檝e made friends in this program that have I鈥檝e been with for 3-4 years. I鈥檝e grown with them, built houses with them and designed with them. The ultimate goal is to听create听our own firm and build our own houses and design our own things, but I鈥檒l settle with interning and getting a good job at an architecture firm first.
What advice would you give to underclassmen and future students?
Do the readings. Drink a lot of coffee. Make friends, not in your classroom, but at two in the morning when you need another piece of drafting paper. You will notice that the people who stick around the longest, and put the most time in are going to be the best friends that you have, because they鈥檒l always be willing to invest in you.