RISE Chats

Reach • Inspire • Support • Empower

RISE Chats are biweekly casual conversations between alums, recent grads & students. With these chats, we hope to Reach, Inspire, Support & Empower our alumni, with a focus on mentorship and career development.

The RISE Chats series is currently on pause, stay tuned for more info for 2022 programming.

If you have a topic of interest you would like to propose, please share here or email ccnyarchalumni@gmail.com.

RISE Chat 17: A.R.E you ready for Summer

Wednesday, June 23, 2021 12:00-1:00pm EST

This RISE Chat was focused on the kick off of the Summer Study Group for the Architects Registration Examination (ARE). We were joined by Alums and recent grads in an informal discussion about their experiences preparing for and taking the exams. Attendees were encouraged to join if they were interested in participating in paired or group study, or simply looking to get started.

RISE Chat 16: M.S. Architecture @ CCNY

Wednesday, June 09, 12:00-1:00pm EST

A conversation w/ Professor Bagchee, Director of the M.S. Architecture program at CCNY. She describes her vision for the MS Architecture program which is directed at students such as Spitzer School B Arch alumni who already hold a professional degree in architecture and who wish to deepen their design abilities and expand their knowledge of contemporary theory, social practice, technology, and environmental systems.

RISE Chat 15: Tips for Recent Grads by Recent Grads

Thursday, May 27th, 12:00-1:00 pm EST.

This was an informal discussion with 10 recent grads about their experiences after graduating from school during the pandemic.

RISE Chat 14: Practicing Sustainability in the Built Environment

Wednesday, April 28th, 12:00-1:00 pm EST.

Conversation with alums Christian Soberanis, Sivan Schlecter, Samuel Man, Akkshayaa Kariyakar, and Jeremy Latriano who spoke about how they integrate sustainability within the architectural profession and beyond. The event was moderated by Chitra Mamidela.

RISE Chat 13: A Conversation with Women in Advocacy !

Thursday, March 25th, 12:00-1:00 pm EST.

Conversation with Women in Advocacy- Joined by alums and current students such as Christin Hu, Leanne Zick, Nadia Habib on different types of advocacy and their experiences advocating as women in the profession! The event will be moderated by current student Nicole Bass!

Our panelists shared anecdotes from their experiences volunteering, protesting, and organizing discussions on issues they are passionate about. We discussed what is advocacy, how to get involved, and tips for success in advocacy.

RISE Chat 12: Starting your own Practice & Freelancing

Thursday, February 11th, 1:00-2:00 pm EST.

Conversation on starting your own practice and freelancing with our alumni.

Joined by alumni panelists, Juwariya Abdul-Karim, Javier Carcamo, Dylan Gould, Helen Herman, and Christian Soberanis for their insightful advice on how to successfully begin self-owned business ventures. We are proud to have alumni that are pursuing projects on their own and creating opportunities for themselves.

Our panelists shared anecdotes from their journeys from working at more conventional firms, their first freelancing opportunities, current work and now securing future projects. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the tips and advice below that were shared throughout the RISE Chat. This event was moderated by our Yuliya Ilizarov, AIA.

RISE Chat 11: Resume & Portfolio Workshop with FXWomxn

Thursday, January 14th, 1:00-2:30 pm EST.

This event is through the RISE Leadership Program, a joint initiative between the Architecture Alumni Group & Primiverarch, promoting leadership development for emerging womxn architecture students.

Joined by Shannon Rodriguez, Chelsea Crisafulli, Jodie Quinter from FXWomxn & FXCollaborative. They provided tips on how to prepare effective, compelling materials and answering specific questions. This engaging and informative conversation will be moderated by Chitra Mamidela.

FXWomxn is an employee resource group at FXCollaborative whose mission is to support professional growth and leadership development for womxn. We seek to promote the voice and perspective of womxn within FXCollaborative. Learn more about FXCollaborative: http://www.fxcollaborative.com

RISE Chat 10: Wellness & Balance

Thursday, November 19th, 1:00-2:00 pm EST.

Conversation on wellness and balance and its influence on our lives and practice.

Joined by Erica Wszolek, BA, MPA, Executive Associate to the Dean at The Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture @lifestyledbyerica who serves the SSA community. Erica is passionate and committed to her own health and wellness journey and hopes that sharing her journey will inspire others to begin their own. This event will be explorative and engaging, moderated by our Chitra Mamidela, Assoc. AIA.

RISE Chat 9: Community Listening Session

Thursday, November 5th, 12:00-2:00 pm EST.

We held a facilitated candid listening & visioning session for alums and students (our future alums) to discuss the current school climate, the dean’s resignation, and the future of our school. We’ve engaged an outside facilitator, Sherry Snipes, to help our community process what’s happening and what we’re collectively envisioning for the future of our school. We plan to share anonymized feedback with the school after this session.

RISE Chat 8: ArchiTECHture- Architecture & Technology

Thursday, October 22nd from 1:00-2:00pm EST.

Moderated by Zara Tamton B. Arch ’18, we had a chat with alums using tech in unconventional ways! Joined by our guest alumni panelists, Christin Hu B. Arch ‘16, Daniel Blanc B. Arch ‘20, and Dalton Whiteside B. Arch ‘18 who shared captivating presentations on their current projects. Christin showed us that when using technology, whether it be high-tech or low-tech, it’s important to ask what ideas we’re trying to communicate first; Daniel demonstrated the intricacies of image editing and rendering; and Dalton blew us away with his Minecraft creation of the 1952 City College Campus. These presentations brought up many interesting questions for us to continue exploring in our daily lives. We are proud to have alumni that are doing such innovative work with technology in the profession and tangentially in their passion projects.

RISE Chat 7: Latinx Heritage

Thursday, October 8th, 1:00-2:00 pm EST.

Conversation on culture and identity for Latinx Heritage Month.

We were joined by our guest alumni panelists, Alvaro Rojas, A.I.A. nació en San José, Laura V. Osorio, B.Arch '76, Susy M. Mikhail, Assoc. AIA, LEED, Soany Marquez, Martha Zambrano, Chaerin Kim and Nadeen Hassan. A special thank you to Venesa Alicea-Chuqui, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP. for moderating the discussion around Latinx Alumni Stories. We heard from panelists of different backgrounds and learned that they shared something in common – a love for their culture and support for the community. All of the panelists have taken on positions of mentorship. Alvaro has inspired many through the Mundaneum and his scholarship initiatives, Laura mentored architects through her position as DOB Borough Commissioner, Susy co-founded 4iD to teach her peers important software integration, and of course the women of Primaverarch support women in architecture through their social media platform. 

We are proud to have alumni of the Latinx community that are doing such incredible work within the profession and beyond.

RISE Chat 6: Architecture Registration Exam 5.0

Thursday, September 24th, 1:00-2:00 pm EST.

Conversation with the experts that wrote the insider’s guide to the ARE 5.0. Joined by special guest @desk_crits, creators of the Insiders Guide to the ARE 5.0.