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AIA CAE Detroit Emerging Professional Scholarship Essay and Bio

By Charles Klecha posted 04-06-2015 04:48 PM

  
As a representative of the national organization for students of architecture and design, I feel that my participation in this conference could be beneficial in multiple ways, both to the AIA and the AIAS. First, I can speak on behalf of a group engaged directly in the post-occupancy use of educational facilities, and lend that perspective in the various pieces of programming. Additionally, my role within the AIAS entails sharing with our membership the possibilities of a life in Architecture, and the possible avenues they may pursue. The information and experiences I gather at this conference would inform content to be distributed to a base of young designers who may be interested in pursuing educational facilities as a career specialization. This role also extends, in the realm of our advocacy efforts, to promoting diversity in practice that more closely mirrors that currently seen in education. Finally, as a native of Detroit and current resident of Midtown, I can lend first-hand experience to some of the tours and lectures in that area, and share an objective viewpoint on the decisions made in those projects.

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Charlie currently serves as the National President for the 2014-2015 term with the American Institute of Architecture Students. The AIAS is an independent, student-governed nonprofit organization closely affiliated with the AIA, serving approximately 10,000 students of architecture and design across the U.S. and around the world. Officers of the AIAS are elected in the final year of a collegiate architecture or design program, and serve their one-year term as full-time employees of the AIAS at their national office in Washington DC. Before commencing his term, Charlie graduated with a three-year M.Arch from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and holds a Bachelor of Theatre Arts from the University of Michigan. 

In addition to holding a seat on the AIA Board of Directors, Charlie serves on many collateral committees, including the Board Community Committee, the joint AIA-NCARB Internship Advisory Committee, and the AIA-ACSA Topaz Medallion Jury. He was recently a member of the NAAB visiting team to Istanbul Technical University, evaluating their standing for Substantial Equivalency. Prior to coming to DC, Charlie was involved heavily with AIA Illinois, as their 2013-2014 Student Director, and with AIA Chicago, on their Advocacy Committee. Along with several other notable student leaders in the Chicago area, Charlie worked diligently to foster greater communication among the four AIAS chapters in the area, and between the AIAS and AIA at both the state and local level. He also led the planning of the first Chicago Design Education Symposium, a regional gathering of students, educators, professionals, and collateral leadership. 

Charlie’s path to architecture has been anything but ‘traditional’, starting his undergraduate career first as an engineer, then as a lighting designer and stage manager in theatre. His initial intention in pursuing a Masters’ degree in architecture was to start a career in architectural lighting and consulting for performing arts architecture, but his rapidly-accelerating involvement with the collateral organizations has shifted his plan to one of licensure, professional practice, and urban development and community engagement in his hometown of Detroit.


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