My Journey to Architecture by Anastasia

My Journey to Architecture by Anastasia - April 2025 Scholarship Essay

What do you want to be when you grow up? At five, I would have answered a dancing, singing astronaut. At ten, I probably would have just said a dancer. As I grew and realized more of life’s responsibilities, I lost the dream to be anything. I floated through middle and high school, hyper focused on my grades knowing they would give me an opportunity to be whatever I wanted to be, but what was that?
Growing up as an only child led me to use art as a relief from my reality. I drew worlds I could live in and characters I could connect with. Although it started as an escape, art is now my passion. I cannot live without it. Seeing what others create and knowing the magnitude of their impact inspired me to do the same. Though art was my first love, I feared it wouldn't lead to a stable career. So, I turned to STEM—especially math, a subject I excelled in. But the more I explored those options, the more I realized something was missing.
I figured I would be an accountant, engineer, or even a professor. However, the more I explored those options, the more I realized something was missing. Doing those jobs for the rest of my life sounded miserable to me. When it came to senior year, I was still lost. My life changed, however, when I made friends with Nancy. She was a girl who took architecture courses at my high school. We became closer, and I got to see more and more of her projects. I started wishing I could follow in her footsteps and that’s when I knew: I want to be an architect. It’s a perfect combination of my love for art and love for math.
My goal is to touch people’s lives through design. I want to impact communities and families with places that foster collaboration, become filled with memories, and feel like home. Becoming an architect is more than just a job or paycheck. For me, being an architect is my calling.