BEGIN is a new interview series aiming to spotlight young professionals in the field of architecture. I am focusing on those working for themselves or in leadership positions in their organizations. Though all the work is impressive, I'm interested in learning how people got to where they are. The decisions they made, the paths they forged, the skills they acquired and maybe the leaps of faith they took in order to get where they are.
Adriana Camacho
Age: 34
Hometown: Port of Spain, Trinidad (left 2003)
Current Town: Port of Spain, Trinidad (returned 2018)
School: Tulane University
Degree: B.S. Arch (Cum Laude) and M. Arch
Job Title: Architect
Employer: STUDIO Adriana (transitioning to self-employment!)
First Exam: June 2015
Last Exam: June 2019
You had a long time between starting and finishing your exams (though probably still below average!) Did you have any fails? If so, how did you deal with it?
I did the 3+2 ARE exam combo. I failed the PPP vignette in ARE 4.0. My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer two days before the exam so needless to say I was not focused. I also failed PDD, my first 5.0 exam. I had a lot of issues with this exam, the program was taking forever to load and I ran out of time. I was not surprised or felt “defeated” by failing this exam as I felt that it was my first experience with 5.0 and used it as a trial run.
At this point I was 6 months pregnant so instead of waiting to retake PDD I took PPD and passed. As soon as I was eligible to retake PDD I did, at which point I was 8 months pregnant. I failed again for the second time. This was by far the hardest fail, as I had desperately wanted to finish the exams before my third child was born. I was also relocating internationally in a few months so I knew the challenge of finishing ARE was about to get even more difficult. I was really crushed after that fail but I knew there was no other option but to put ARE on hold.
I welcomed my third child, then moved abroad two months later. Once things were “settled” in our new home and new country I scheduled the exam. In the months leading up to the exam I treated studying like it was my job, carving out the time in between my kids' schedules and literally absorbed every single resource I could get my hands on.
I went into my last exam feeling prepared but also pressured as I had traveled to the US just to take the test and frankly wasn’t sure what else I could do to prepare if I failed again. Luckily I passed and those were the most amazing four letters on a screen I had ever seen!
You just mentioned it, but can you talk more about the long gaps you had between exams? How/why did you decide to keep trying to finish the ARE?
Getting licensed was always the goal, but I guess my mistake was that I never put a deadline on it. Every time work got too crazy I pushed back or rescheduled an exam. Both my parents and mother in law also had some serious health issues over the course of about three years where they came to Houston (where we were living at the time) for treatment so my husband and I became their support system. After my second baby was born in 2016 I had to stop working for a while as he too had some complicated health issues that required me to be home a lot more to care for him. So I guess you could say my exams were the only thing that were “optional” so it was the first thing to get pushed back when things got to be too much.
“Getting licensed was always the goal, but I guess my mistake was that I never put a deadline on it.”
Tell me about your exam process. Most people don't have to fly international just to take an exam!
When I graduated in 2009, the market was really down and I couldn’t find full time work at an Architecture office. I worked at a few offices part time and then eventually got a full time position with an interior designer which was a fantastic experience and has really helped shaped my career.
Unfortunately this meant that none of the time that I spent there went towards IDP hours! After a few years I decided to get back into Architecture and changed jobs. At my new job I was hired to help develop the firm's commercial interiors department and to also work on several of their Residential Architectural and Residential Interiors projects. So just when I thought I was ready to start sitting exams I was working late each night and on weekends with zero time to study! Then I decided to start a family. So in between working, having kids and helping care for our own family and our parents while they were in Houston for treatments it was hard to carve out the time consistently to study and take exams on a regular schedule.
I found studying for ARE really difficult. Not just because you are “on your own” but I found I had lost some of my ability to focus on just one task, which at the time was reading or watching videos on all things ARE. When you are working in an office or even at home taking care of kids, you are never doing just one task, you are perpetually jumping from one thing to the next, always multi-tasking. Studying was the complete opposite of what I had been doing for so many years, it was tough to retrain my brain!
Once you committed to not making the exams “optional” how did you create that study time for yourself?
I had to be very disciplined about studying and scheduling time to study. It was impossible for me to study at home as my kids are all under the age of 5 so they don’t really understand why mummy can’t play if she is home.
While preparing for this last exam I wasn’t working in an office so I treated studying like a job. My two older kids were home from school by noon and the baby was home all day, so each morning I would go to a family member’s office and study and then pick up the kids from school and take a break while they were home and then study again at night after they were in bed.
Any special tips, tricks or advice you could give to others now that you are done?
Do not do what I did!
The exams were important to me, but they were also the one thing that was “optional” so it was the first thing to get pushed back when things got too busy whether at home or at work. The timeline of my exams went on for way too long and it constantly felt like something just looming over me. Do not let your exams be optional, set a schedule and stick to it. I have always been extremely diligent about sticking to a deadline and have never missed one in my career, so I think if I had set a schedule and deadline from the start of the process this would have helped me. Also, connect with others who are also sitting the exams, so you can discuss ideas and exam strategy. I found reading the ARE blog very helpful, but I wish I had a group of people I could have interacted with in person. I went into the last exam with a complete time strategy on when I would take the break, at which point I would do the Case Study and when I would tackle the questions. I jotted down my ‘schedule’ on the scratch paper as soon as I walked in and that helped me with the time management aspect of it. Also, I wish I had found Hyperfine earlier in the exam process, it really is an amazing study resource and there is nothing else like it.
“It constantly felt like something just looming over me. Do not let your exams be optional, set a schedule and stick to it”
Are your career plans changing now that you have a license?
Some people probably wonder why I bothered finishing licensure since I am currently not living in the US, but for me it was always important to get licensed. I equated it with going to law school and not doing the bar. Also, I am sure I will be living in the US again at some point. Now that my exams are behind me I am moving on with my solo career as an Architect and am currently in the midst of launching my Architecture and Interior Design office here in Trinidad. I am really excited about this next phase of my career and feel really lucky that I am able to work for myself in Trinidad building a business here and also to still work for previous employer in Houston.
Self-employment is a huge adventure! Was this always your goal? Do you feel ready?
I always thought about opening my own office at some point, just never had a specific idea of when that would happen, but the timing of relocation and finishing ARE seems like the best time to start this next phase. All of my professional experience has always been at very small offices most of which were 3-4 people (one was about 25). You were never just responsible for doing some drawings and we all wore many hats. There was always a feeling of what you did as an individual had a direct reflection on the office, so in that sense I feel prepared but at the same it is obviously a big change. I feel excited for the next steps and am looking forward to everything that comes next!
What are you reading/watching/listening to?
Right now I am reading The Business of Design: Balancing Creativity and Profitability by Ketih Grant. I'm listening to lots of podcasts about marketing your Architecture/Interior Design office on Instagram. Seeing a trend here?! I am in full launching mode.
Thank you, Adriana! How can people learn more about you and your new practice?
Right now the best place is Instagram @studioadriana.co or my website
Another great Begin interview here with Pavan Iyer of eightvillage
