In celebration of International Women’s Day, we sat down with one of our office’s young, inspired females–Carissa Mejia. During our conversation, we discussed her journey into the architecture industry and the strong mentors that helped her navigate a historically male-dominated field. We are excited to share her story and hope that it helps to inspire others.
…it is also encouraging to see other women who are ahead of me and at different stages. It reminds me that they have overcome whatever challenges they’ve faced and found a way to navigate their responsibilities between work and life.
Q: What do you notices as the role of women in architecture and design as the industry evolves?
Honestly, no one told me that I couldn’t.
As more women join the field, our perspectives can alter or affirm various approaches to design problems. I think it’s important for women to weigh in because we can offer those different perspectives, possibly leading to more thoughtful, well-rounded solutions. As someone who is just beginning her career, it is also encouraging to see other women who are ahead of me and at different stages. It reminds me that they have overcome whatever challenges they’ve faced and found a way to navigate their responsibilities between work and life.
Q: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO CHOOSE A CAREER PATH THAT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN MALE DOMINATED?
I found that designing and building was a very life-giving creative outlet for me.
Honestly, no one told me I couldn’t. I had a strong male role model in my father and he encouraged me to look into architecture. Eventually, I found that designing and building was a very life-giving creative outlet for me. It didn’t occur to me that the industry was male-dominated. But, once I saw that it was, I didn’t want to give up on something I enjoyed, despite sometimes being the odd-ball out.
q: Do you have any advice for young women considering choosing a career path similar to yours?
Embrace your limits. That sounds contradictory, but once I stopped harping on the things I couldn’t do, I was free to focus on all of the things I could do. There have definitely been times when I’ve questioned whether I was “built” for this, especially when working construction and not being physically able to do what the guys were doing. But, what brought me a lot of peace was remembering that just because your body’s design is different from theirs doesn’t mean you are of any less value. I would also note that in an area where there aren’t many women, find the men who are willing to help and don’t sweat the ones that aren’t. Sometimes, remembering that you’re surrounded by brothers, dads, uncles, and grandfathers also helps shake the nerves.
Q; during your path to your professional position, didi you find inspiration in anyone in the a&d industry?
There were a couple of women who inspired me as I started out. Mainly, people who found a way to leverage architecture and design for community service. Lindsay Brugger was my first inspiration- an architect turned advocate. Her work focuses on community resilience. I also had a professor, Ronit Eisenbach, who guided me toward community impact design. This approach dials into empathy and educates the community on design, with the end goal of creating more targeted solutions. My third inspiration would be my mentor, an architect named Chau Pham.
Q: Could you tell us more on how your mentor impacted you?
When I met her, Chau was a young architect at a firm in DC. Talking with her gave me valuable perspective into the architecture and design industry. She and I have kept in touch over the years via email. We share what we’ve learned, where we’re at, and what’s next for us. Maintaining this relationship over time has helped me remember my goals and set new ones. And bonus- I have learned from her journey as well. She’s been an encouraging influence as I have explored how my career and community service intersect. In the future, I would love to be that person for someone else. To share with them the same advice she gave me: “What you want to do may have no title or job description yet. How a career manifests will look different for everyone so enjoy the journey!”
