We all remember that day in pre-school when our teacher asked us what we want to be when we grow up. The room filled with noise as everyone blurted their answers at once. Most people shouted out things like, “the President,” “an Astronaut,” or “a Model.” While most people gave up their childhood ambitions, Diana Stavropoulus stuck to her guns. She wanted to be “someone who builds buildings,” and has kept her word ever since. Stavropoulos is originally from Skokie, IL and is now at UIC, pursuing her dreams with a major in architecture. Though the days are long, and the nights are tedious, her passion for architecture is ever present.
HerCampusUIC: What about architecture do you love? How do you know this is what you want to do for the rest of your life?
Diana Stavropoulos:Back in pre-school, I really did not know what I was saying, besides that I love buildings. Which is odd for a girl at that age, I would think. I have always loved buildings. My parents took me downtown a lot when I was young and I would stick my head out the window to look up at the skyscrapers. I don’t know why, but I took the time to really look at the structure and detail of most buildings I walked past. I didn’t really know what I was doing; I was just fascinated with it.
I have always wanted to become an architect. I didn’t learn the correct terminology for a person that “builds buildings” until junior high I think. I went to high school knowing I wanted to take courses that involved architecture. I took Technical drafting, Architectural drafting, and Advanced Engineering. Engineering was just for fun. I was thinking about minoring in civil engineering maybe. When I got the acceptance letter for the School of Architecture at UIC, I realized what I had just gotten myself into. Architecture in high school is completely different compared to college. Big adjustment.
What I love about architecture is the freedom and power you have in what comes into a design. You really get to express yourself and solve problems in creative ways. Some may even seem too impossible to build or incorporate. But that is the fun of it sometimes. I cannot wait to become licensed.
HerCampusUIC: Architecture is a very rigorous major. What does one normal class period consist of?
Diana Stavropoulos:I have studio twice a week, every Tuesday/Thursday for 4 hours each day. It was a big adjustment from high school. I have never taken this long of a class before. But surprisingly those days go by pretty fast. I have so much to get done for those days; I don’t even realize the time going by. I start at 2 pm and end at 6 pm. All of the hours before class, I am rushing to get all of my final touches on my assignment. We have 5 mini studios within our large studio, each with their own professor. We pin up our projects on the wall and/or display our models and present them. My first time presenting, I honestly had no idea what I was doing. I have presented things before, but not with the detail expected in my studio. They want to know your thought process of why you did what you did. Surprisingly sometimes that is a very difficult question to answer.
HerCampusUIC: How long does it usually take to do one project? How many hours do you devote to it?
Diana Stavropoulos:We are given projects on a Tuesday and have until Thursday to complete it. Or vice versa. We present our projects during class and are critiqued. We take that advice and revise our projects for the next time we meet. It gets rough between Tuesday-Thursday. You are given so little time to finish a project that seems impossible to complete sometimes. Those are the days I pull most of my late nights. But the weekends are tough too, because you want to go out and it is not always easy to make time every weekend. I don’t know how many hours I devote per project exactly, but let’s just say I devote only a few hours to sleep during the week.
HerCampusUIC: Tell us about the late nights involved. Are you all staying up late studying? Or is it more hands on?
Diana Stavropoulos:So far what I have experienced, I have not had to do any studying for architecture. Besides a quick recap of what I need to say to present before studio, architecture is more hands on or computer work. You are either building a model, or creating drawings/diagrams on your computer. I commute, so I pull a lot of late nights at my house. But I have spent the night finishing projects in studio several times. When we have a model due, there is always a group of people in studio at all hours of the day. We all usually stay up doing our assignments together. We make 5:30 am Starbucks and Mr. Greek runs. And take quick naps on the studio tables. Yeah it sucks to stay up all night, especially if you have classes the next morning. But it’s actually fun with everybody there. You learn a lot from each other and its just fun to hang out with everybody. The studio has become a second home and my classmates are starting to become like a family. I just spend so much time with them. I feel odd going anywhere during my breaks. I automatically come to the architecture building. It has become a habit for most of my classmates as well, even if we are not doing architecture.
HerCampusUIC: That sounds like a very difficult major. What keeps you from getting discouraged?
Diana Stavropoulos:Architecture is a hard major. I knew what I was getting myself into. I had heard about the time consuming projects and lack of sleep prior to coming to UIC. But I have always wanted to become an architect since I was kid. It is going to suck along the way at times, but it is all worth it. I really don’t know what other career I would even consider pursuing. I guess I have had tunnel vision all of my life when it comes to my future profession. All I have known is architecture.
What keeps me going is coffee. I love coffee. I think I have become an addict since I started architecture. I stopped over winter break, and my head was pounding all of the time. My architecture classmate said she would choose coffee over food. You don’t get sleep in this major, so coffee becomes your best friend to keep you up, but in all seriousness, what keeps me going is my drive to finish. I love architecture even though it’s difficult at times. As long as in the end, I am doing something I love, I’ll put up with everything that comes along the way.
HerCampusUIC: What is it like being one of the few females? Any prejudices?
Diana Stavropoulos:There are a lot of girls actually in my studio. Yes, we are outnumbered by the guys, but I really don’t mind. I grew up with three brothers, so I am used to competing with the guys, but I feel like we are treated fairly.
HerCampusUIC: What is your ultimate career goal?
Diana Stavropoulos:My ultimate goal is to become a successful architect. I would love to be a big time architect, designing sky scrapers or important/famous buildings, but what I really want to do is design residential areas. I want to be able to come onto a site and actually do some work myself instead of being behind the curtains all of the time. I promised myself I would never get a desk job. Give or take, architects do sit at a desk a lot, but I want to be active in constructing a house physically myself. I want to own my own company as well. A small company would be just fine with me, but hey, if it becomes a big time company, I won’t complain. I just want to be doing something I love.