“My journey to RISD began decades ago when my father took Summer Foundations courses at RISD as a graduate student. Whenever we would come to Providence, he would always remember his summer at RISD, and how it was the most effective educational experience he had received. Going to college in Providence, it was always in the back of my head that I wanted to utilize having RISD as a neighbor, and luckily this summer, the stars aligned and I was able to participate in a CE course.

I chose RISD because I go to school in Providence, and am familiar with RISD’s strengths as an art and design school. I am interested in exploring urban planning and design, and thought taking an introductory class to architectural design would help me build a skillset and basic understanding of design processes.

Continually each assignment challenged and pushed me in a new way, however, I think the first assignment was the most challenging. For this assignment we had to create 31 models varying from 2-7 planes with all the models being guided by a unified concept. This assignment was so challenging for me because it required me to think in an abstract and artistic manner that I was not accustomed to in my coursework that is social science oriented. My struggles with the first assignment helped me grow accustomed to this mode of thinking, which was a vital part of the design assignments going forward.

I think the best part about RISD is the people that are attracted to it. Everyone in the class came to RISD with very different backgrounds, which greatly added to the classroom dynamic. Since the RISD style of teaching promotes students learning from their peers, having classmates with diverse backgrounds and strengths helped me improve my own work. My work would not have developed in the way that it did without my classmates.”

—Andrew Olivo [RISD CE Summer Studies / Introduction to Architectural Design]

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