Seeing the vibrant colors of desert plants, hearing coyotes howling, feeling the jagged rocks under my feet, and smelling the scent of rain from the Creosote Bush. My childhood backyard spilled into Thunder Canyon, an arroyo connected to the Franklin Mountains, the largest urban state park in the United States. I was privileged to have parents who encouraged me to wander the landscape, which sparked my curiosity and made me become rebellious against the status quo. The connection with the land gave me an awareness and love to care for nature. Over the years, I noticed the differences between my childhood and others. I saw how urban sprawl created boundaries and barriers that did not allow this exploration, which is important to children and human development. My love for nature inspired me to pursue anything that dealt with sustainability, and my awareness of urban sprawl made me want to change how we build our cities.

 

As the city of El Paso grew, I noticed that the houses on the outskirts were becoming further apart and more cookie-cutter. Zoning codes were making natural areas private and inaccessible. Winding roads in the suburbs made it impossible to travel other than a car because the automobile was the only thing considered. People became isolated, and I had a sense that all this driving and societal norms did not seem right. 

 

This passion for caring for the built environment I gained as a child inspired me to pursue a career path to help solve these societal problems. I attended UTSA to receive my Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 2008. It wasn’t until my semester in Tuscany that I saw the differences between our country and theirs. I grew up blinded, thinking that our way of living was universal, but I discovered that there are better ways to have as few environmental impacts as possible. Seeing the culture of the Italians to choose different forms of transportation, such as buses, trains, or walking, and the avoidance of urban sprawl emboldened my passion for being green and designing healthy and happy spaces.

 

My semester in Tuscany inspired me to apply to a master's program that had a strong focus on sustainability and urban design. The University of Oregon’s Portland Campus Architecture Master’s program hit these boxes. While attending, I got an in-depth theoretical understanding of these issues that I’m concerned with that I can apply to the real world. Living in Portland allowed me the opportunity to participate in sustainable urban living by experiencing theory in practice daily. 

 

My work experience further increased my knowledge of how to apply these practices to the built environment. While working for Brett Schulz Architect in Portland, I’ve been able to work on adaptive reuse projects or new construction that promotes urban infill. BSA focuses on affordable housing to help with the homelessness crises and adaptive reuse projects that house locally owned small businesses. My most notable work while working for BSA was designing and managing the PAM CUT Tomorrow Theater, an adaptive reuse vintage movie theater renovation. While in Portland, I also gave back to my community by volunteering for several organizations, such as Architects in Schools and Depave, which transform over-paved places in disenfranchised communities to create resilient greenspaces. 

 

I recently moved back to El Paso to be closer to family and to implement the practices I’ve gained. I hope to continue the pursuit of making this city as sustainable as possible by renovating existing buildings, advocating for urban infill, increasing walkability, providing public access to nature, and designing opportunities for social interactions.