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Meet Nick Arcuri, a UL Â鶹´«Ã½app graduate student who will finish his Master of Architecture degree in May 2016. He earned his Bachelor of General Studies in the arts and humanities and worked as a blacksmith and woodworker before becoming one of our graduate students at UL Â鶹´«Ã½app. Outside the classroom, he works as a graduate assistant in the Office of Career Services.

Why did you want to earn a graduate degree?
I felt that I needed a graduate degree to expand my career options and to ensure that I was a competitive candidate for the jobs I want.

Why a master’s in architecture?
In architecture, if you don’t have a professional degree from a five-year program, you need to get an undergraduate degree and a master’s in architecture to be licensed -- and I want to be a licensed architect.

I kind of fell into architecture — growing up in Tampa, Florida, my dad was an architect and my mom was an art teacher. I didn’t originally want to pursue architecture and instead wanted to do visual arts, but I didn’t like that as much as I expected.

I spent some time after my undergraduate career building custom cabinetry, and got back into designing. I decided I could have a future in designing if I went back to school. While I was working, I really liked seeing a finished product at the end of the day and the fulfillment that came from that. It’s important to me that I can continue to have that fulfillment in my career.

Why did you choose UL Â鶹´«Ã½app’s master’s in architecture program?
While I was working, I ran into one of my former professors, who convinced me that earning my master’s in architecture was the right path for me. At UL Â鶹´«Ã½app, it was the fastest, most affordable, and most convenient way for me to earn an accredited degree.

What do you like best about being a graduate student at UL Â鶹´«Ã½app?
There were so many opportunities available in and outside of class, and I took advantage of as many as I could. There are great opportunities available to anyone in the Master of Architecture program, and that’s a huge draw. I liked being able to do design-build projects, along with all of the traveling opportunities we had as graduate students.

I got to study abroad in Florence under a Rome Prize winning architect and professor Michael McClure for graduate credit. I won the internship to work for the world’s premier water feature designer Jim Garland in Los Angeles, where I also lived with Emmy-winning set designers. UL Â鶹´«Ã½app's master's in architecture program took part in an international grant project that funded the design and construction of multiple gridshell pavilions across North America. I was one of the lead designers for the project, and traveled to Nova Scotia to present the design at an international conference.

What did you do for a master’s project or thesis?
Over three semesters, I designed and built a temporary, portable event space for a local fundraising dinner called Runaway Dish. I used readily available materials and drew inspiration from local building types to create a unique dining room specific to the Southern-themed event. It will be reassembled for future Runaway Dish events across the region. 

Watch a video of the event space's assembly here:

What do you plan to do with your master’s degree?
The master’s in architecture is one of three pieces you need to become a licensed architect — so I’ll use what I learned in the classroom as a foundation for the next two steps: my licensing exams and work in a firm.