I worked as a junior architect for almost two years and working on residential redevelopment projects in the suburbs of Mumbai, India. I learned a lot from on-site experiences, coordinating with consultants, and working with an amazing team. Since my time in architecture school I was inclined towards learning more about sustainable design and construction but Mumbai as a city had very limited options to focus on this field. After contemplating it for almost a year I decided to go back to school and get a master’s degree in sustainability. 

I came across the program during my research for schools and what drew me most towards it was its interdisciplinary nature and the idea of studying in New York City also seemed very exciting! The program introduced me to exceptionally smart, kind, and intelligent people who share the same amount of passion for this subject although we all come from different professional backgrounds. The faculty and my classmates have helped me broaden my perspective, put forward my ideas in a better way, think critically, push myself to learn about new things, and improve as a person.

The program gave me and my two classmates, Katie and Lillibeth, a chance to collaborate and work on a  capstone project in association with the Housing Preservation Department, The Community Preservation Corporation, Bright Power and Steven Winters Association to help mortgage lenders underwrite passive house savings. The goal is to create a database so that passive house developers, architects, and consultants have a common platform to publish these savings and encourage more developers to construct passive house buildings. The real-life application and the practical nature of this capstone will be of great help to us in the future.

Apart from my academic work, I got an opportunity to work as the Program Assistant to our Program Manager, Katherine who happens to be my capstone advisor. In my capacity as the program assistant I help with drafting weekly email reminders, announcements, job opportunities, and events. We created a social media presence for our Program to stay connected with our faculty, students, alumni, and other departments of CUNY as well as reach a larger audience. Working for the program gave me an understanding of the logistics and hard work it takes to make this program better for the students and that has been a great learning experience for me.