For me, the CAPLA experience is about the closeness of our community. You’ll always be able to find someone to help you or to have a laugh with.

I am from Cairo, Egypt, and beyond architecture, I enjoy watching shows and movies, playing the piano and swimming. What I love about CAPLA and the B Arch program is how collaborative everyone is. It was really easy to form a community within our studio. My biggest challenge has been managing my time both to not procrastinate about my academic work and finding time to take care of myself. There are many internship opportunities presented to us at CAPLA and I’m looking forward to applying for internships soon. Ultimately, I hope get my architecture license and specialize in residential architecture. I hope to use my architecture degree for good and work on low-income housing. My advice to prospective students is to manage your time wisely. It is easy to fall behind when you do not expect it. It’s also important to have some time to yourself outside of architecture school.

Connect with Souhayla

The CAPLA experience to me has been about taking on challenges and breaking out of what I think I know, toward more thoughtful and meaningful designs. This experience continues to be fulfilling thanks to the friends I have made at CAPLA, as well as the support I have garnered from the faculty at CAPLA.

Hi there! I am from San Diego, CA, but I have also lived in Irvine, CA for some time while I was pursuing my undergraduate degree in Art History there. Coming from a historian background, I really appreciate CAPLA's dedication to understanding the site in order to design with and towards a sense of place. Additionally, I appreciate the challenges of practical applications and realizations of our designs through CAPLA's resources and curriculum. I was fortunate to start my graduate degree with a wonderful cohort that have become my close friends and second family. I learn a lot from each of them, as their different backgrounds bring many different perspectives to the table. This is true of my experience with the faculty and their various courses at CAPLA as well. Outside of school, I value making time for my hobbies: reading books, watching films, playing board games, discovering new coffee shops and restaurants, going to museums and just hanging out with my loved ones--including my dog, Howdy! My advice for prospective students would be that time management is key! Whatever step of the design process you may be in, it will almost always take longer than you think. Don't underestimate the value of making time for life outside of school either. Lastly, be prepared to be broken out of your comfort zone--in the best ways!

Connect With Kathy 

The CAPLA experience is about collaborative learning. It is unlike any other environment in the sense that you will gain just as many skills from your friends as you will from your professors.

I am originally from Guadalajara, Mexico but mostly raised locally in Oro Valley, Arizona. Outside of school, I partake in distance running, lifting and spending time with friends. I closely follow football and enjoy supporting the Steelers every Sunday along with all Pittsburgh teams. What makes CAPLA so unique is the undisputed sense of family you feel among your peers. With the curriculum being structured to fit a demanding routine, you will find yourself spending a lot of time with colleagues in studio and practicing a diverse arsenal of design. Although this is now my favorite part of school, it was my biggest challenge progressing through my foundation year. Now that I am in the professional phase, I have learned to embrace the production and truly take pride in the process. During my first year, I was able to land a project management internship with Chasse Building Team and I continue to work for them. After college, I wish to combine the two fields of design and construction and take on design/build-oriented projects. I encourage everyone interested in design to start with an open mind and express their personality in the work they produce. Know that this field is a practice and you will never stop being a student. 

Connect with Diego

The CAPLA experience is about growing as a strong and independent individual who is not afraid of a challenge, because I know that someone will always have my back.

Hello, I am from the beautiful town of Greenbelt, Maryland. I love spending my time outdoors and some of my favorite activities are sailing, road cycling and taking long walks with my dog. Looking back on my time in CAPLA as a Bachelor of Architecture student, I am always amazed by the milestones I have been able to accomplish. Of course, I was not able to accomplish these milestones by myself; through the guidance of my instructors and the engagement of my fellow students I was able to develop as a free-thinking and independent individual. CAPLA has taught me how to embrace creativity and be bold while also being a critical thinker and problem solver. CAPLA has also provided amazing opportunities to engage in the community and my favorite experience by far has been my time as an American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) mentor. I strongly encourage any new student to get involved with the community because it is an excellent way to connect with more experienced students who love to share their knowledge and expertise.

Connect with Waverly

To me, the CAPLA experience means being surrounded by creative, innovative people who want to make the world a better place. It is a wonderful, supportive environment in which you can recognize your limitless potential.

I am from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and beyond my degree, I am passionate about rock climbing, gardening and giving back to my community. My favorite part about CAPLA is how many wonderful people you meet. Specifically in my degree program, I am inspired by my colleagues and professors who think of creative and sustainable solutions to problems in the built environment. My biggest challenge in my academic program has been overcoming my tendency to be overly critical of myself. I have resolved that by recognizing that self-praise is just as important as self-criticism and celebrating my strengths. Two jobs that I have held which have been relevant to my education in landscape architecture are a plant care specialist at a plant nursery and a studio technician at a ceramics studio. My work at the plant nursery greatly helped my knowledge of plant materials and landscape ecology, and my work at the ceramics studio immersed me in the design process. I would like to design landscapes that positively impact the environment and the people that live in it. My advice to prospective students is to immerse yourself as much as you can in the architectural and urban design professions. Read, attend lectures and workshops, draw and dedicate time to observing the world around you.

Read Emma's full student profile.

Connect with Emma

The CAPLA experience is about being challenged, learning new skills and thinking with our hands.

I am from San Diego, California, and outside of school I enjoy watching sports, primarily basketball and baseball. You can also find me playing mini-golf on the weekends and trying to learn new cooking recipes. My favorite thing about CAPLA is that studios allow us to develop an architecture family. Spending as much time in the studio as we do, we develop caring, trusting, playful and respectful friendships with our peers. My biggest challenge while at CAPLA has been that I would only think about the academic aspects and forget that our student organizations host wonderful events that can benefit us greatly and are worth attending. For the last four years, I have been able to join multiple Habitat for Humanity volunteer groups with the mission to build homes for underdeveloped communities while experiencing vibrant cultures. Once school is over, I would like to join the Peace Corps for two years, during which I hope that I could help protect the environment by teaching about our current environmental issues and creating awareness. After this, I want to become a registered architect, gaining experience by working in a large firm and ultimately creating my own small firm. My advice to prospective students is to be curious, explore your interests and join different clubs or organizations. You will have much more fun being with people who share your interest. Also: go to office hours! Show your professors that you care about your education.

Connect with Jesus

The CAPLA experience to me means pursuing a higher education in something I am passionate about and being able to do it with the support of my second family at CAPLA.

I am from Chandler, Arizona, and am interested in sports (especially basketball), working out, music, traveling and food! If I had to choose one thing that I love most about CAPLA, it is the feeling of home that I get when I am here. I am surrounded by great instructors and my best friends! My biggest challenge that I have faced while being at CAPLA is spreading myself too thin sometimes. With all the opportunities and fun activities that CAPLA offers, I want to be a part of it all! Some of the opportunities that I have been most involved in are the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) as a mentor/mentee and of course, CAPLA Ambassadors! The CAPLA Job Interview Fair has helped me to network with architecture firms and find summer internships. After I graduate, I hope to become a registered architect, work in a well-known firm and eventually become a principal of a firm. My advice to prospective students is to get involved in CAPLA and create your own second family here.

Connect with Kaya

To me the CAPLA experience is the crossroads of everything you could encounter at the University of Arizona. You will be drawing on all of the subjects you’ve learned in school to solve complex design problems, and doing so under accomplished professors and alongside students from every background imaginable. It's a time for forming lifelong friends, growing as an individual, and transforming into a young professional. 

I am a native Tucsonan and when not in class you’ll find me painting or illustrating and hiking all around Tucson. I love traveling and seeing new landscapes. I love the community within the student body at CAPLA. Not only do we support each other in studio, but we regularly visit outside of class; playing games, getting food or going on adventures. It’s incredible being around so many like-minded people and bouncing ideas around, and it really sets our college apart. My biggest challenge at CAPLA was remote learning during the pandemic. It was incredibly difficult to be removed from the support of my peers; to not be able to casually ask questions or gauge how others were progressing on their work, or to figure out how to make a model without space and resources on campus. I’m grateful to have returned to the studio! I’m looking forward to becoming a licensed architect after graduation. I’m most excited about large-scale public projects, redevelopment projects and the ways in which programs can be redesigned to better serve the 21st century. My advice to future students is to treat your design projects as a continuous exercise, and don’t just work or think on it only during assigned class time or drop it entirely when the deadline comes. These design challenges are incredibly “nutritious” regardless of if you like the work, and there is tremendous value in learning how to incorporate thinking on your design every day, and even revisiting it beyond the deadline.

The CAPLA experience has not only taught me the skills and knowledge for an aspiring architect, but has also given me the opportunity to create lasting friendships and connections with my colleagues and instructors around me.

I am all the way from Cedar Falls, Iowa! Outside of architecture (and besides spending countless hours on TikTok), I like photography and taking pictures of cool moments in nature, and I enjoy hiking as well and getting into nature. I appreciate the Bachelor of Architecture program here at CAPLA because of the freedom I am given to create projects that explore my own interests in architecture. CAPLA provides me all the tools and resources necessary, which I am grateful for. My biggest challenge being an architecture student has been time management and making sure that all of my work is completed on time, to which I utilize a planner to organize assignments. I am hopeful to receive an internship this upcoming summer, but the last six summers I have spent lifeguarding between my hometown’s pool and waterpark. My ultimate career goal is to hopefully run my own firm as a registered architect. My advice to prospective students is to reach out and get involved. For me personally, I am involved in the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) organization and CAPLA Ambassadors, of course. CAPLA has so many opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities and clubs and is such an easy way to make friends who will help push you to succeed!

Connect with Carter

CAPLA is like my other home, and the people here are like my other family, which makes the architecture and our work more enjoyable and fun.

I am from Beirut, Lebanon, though I was born in Los Angeles, California. Aside from architecture, I enjoy activities like hiking and cheerleading. I was a part of the University of Arizona Cheerleader team. What I like about CAPLA is that the students help and support each other, whether with our questions or if we are struggling. I like that CAPLA is open 24/7, so you can do work in the studio anytime you want with full access to the Materials Lab. Architecture is my favorite thing to do, but time management has been a challenge, especially with my full-time job. The way I resolved it is by going to school during the day and then working at night in emergency roadside assistance. That has worked well for me. My ultimate career goal is to be a successful architect and also to work on commercial and residential buildings in different places. The advice I have for other students is to read a lot about architecture and understand it; architecture is not only building, it's also about the concept and understanding the reason behind each building.

Connect with Moe

The CAPLA experience is filled with collaboration within a close-knit community working to create and design.

Alongside architecture, I am passionate about other forms of design: taking photos, painting and curating beauty in life through horticulture. The diversity of courses and the CAPLA community are my favorite aspects of studying architecture. Trying to prioritize between classes and my personal life, but with patience and concentrating on time management, I was able to curate a schedule that works for me. I have worked with photographers who collaborate with artists which enabled me to appreciate various aspects of design. This background is something I would like to incorporate with architecture. My career aspiration is to work as an architect whilst exhibiting built work through photography. My advice to prospective students is to come in open-minded, be willing to try various things and draw inspiration from preceding work.

Learn more about Christine Ufondu.

Connect with Christine