UWM Personal Statement

I never would have guessed that University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee would be my future alma mater. In all honesty, UWM was not on my list of Universities to apply to prior to the Architecture Summer Camp I took there. It was surely a lesson to me that I shouldn’t close doors before I even open them. I thought I knew which University I wanted to go to, but after the seeing the doors that being a part of Milwaukee’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning could open for me, I knew that my future would be in good hands at UWM. My experience at the Architecture summer camp was, in all honesty, life altering. I made new friends and met my roommate for the upcoming school year, I had the honor of learning incredible amounts of information from

It boggles my mind how connected everyone is within the School of Architecture and Urban Planning and the greater Milwaukee community. When I was at the Architecture Summer Camp, I toured several local architecture firms in which most of the employees, if not the owners, were alumni of UWM’s architecture program. The rates of job placement within four months of graduation for UWM School of Architecture and Urban Planning students are a staggering 80-90%. Even before becoming a student at UWM I was able to learn from and correspond with people from the Architecture Firms we visited. Yet again, before starting my freshman year at UWM I have the chance to speak with local Architects and professors at the January 28th event. Other opportunities for going beyond the classroom learning are during the “Tea and Bikkies” sessions, the two lecture series SARUP hosts each year, the six to ten regional and national exhibitions SARUP hosts, and the sponsored studio program the school has. The school also has acquired over $60 million in research. In addition, SARUP hosts 24 distinguished professors who provide learning opportunities outside of the classroom. UWM also has architecture clubs like the American Institute of Architecture Students, National Organization of Minority Architecture Students, Milwaukee Student Planning Association, and Emerging Green Builders. All of these academic clubs allow students to use the skills they have acquired in their classes and dig deeper into their craft. After talking to alumni and graduate students of UWM’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning, I have learned that by being a Panther, there are endless opportunities for internship and apprenticeship. Yet another opportunity I