TLCD is proud to engage with local high schools, connecting with students to share insights about careers in architecture. This spring, Project Captain, Matthias Schwarz represented TLCD at two unique high school events, enjoying meaningful conversations with students about their futures and the impact of design. Our participation reflects TLCD’s ongoing commitment to supporting and inspiring the next generation within our community.
The Piner High School Career Exploration Fair was held on April 15th in the large multi-purpose room on campus and was set up in trade show fashion. In preparation, students collaborated with their teachers to identify a handful of companies they were most interested in meeting. They came prepared with thoughtful questions, making the conversations engaging and insightful. About 25 local employers had booths set up and students came through in scheduled time slots. Each student carried a “passport” that companies stamped upon visiting their booth, adding an interactive element to the event and encouraging students to connect with multiple organizations. TLCD’s booth was set up with a rotating slide show of our projects, team and photos showing office culture. One student recognized TLCD after attending the Mike Hauser STEAM program at our office last summer and shared with Matthias how much she enjoyed it!
The Elsie Allen High School Lobo Strong Career Conference took place on April 29th. The event began in the main gym for all students, teachers, and industry representatives with a keynote speech by Dr. Allen Cortez, a general surgeon from Sutter Hospital. Dr. Cortez provided very interesting insights from his career path and daily work life and did a wonderful job in motivating the students to follow their passion when pursuing a career. Students then rotated to assigned classrooms for focused break-out sessions on different careers. Matthias presented to two different groups about his journey into architecture, his educational background, and expectations for working in the industry. The day concluded with one-on-one mock interviews, where industry professionals met with up to four students at a time, giving them practical experience examples and feedback to questions posed.
It was great meeting with students and participating in two very different events. In general, I tried to convey an understanding of what the job of being an architect entails and the type of work TLCD does. What I enjoyed most were the one-on-one interactions with students who were very polite, curious and engaged.
Mattthias Schwarz/Project Captain
TLCD Architecture