emerging professional

tomorrow i leave for my first professional trip.
[the last statement does not posses the excitement i feel as i write it]

at the beginning of june, i wrote an essay in regards to my feelings on internship. you see, technically, i am not yet an architect. i am an intern architect. i cannot practice as an "architect" until i become licensed as one, which requires me to first go through idp and then pass 9 architect registration exam. for those readers who have not been infected by the world of architecture, idp [intern development program] is the 2 year minimum time period architects must go through before they are allowed to take a series of nine exams. doctors endure residency, architects waddle through idp. however, an architect's intern process is far from the refined process of a medical resident.
idp is far from what it is capable of being and thus the conference,
designing tomorrow's architect: the 2005 internship conference in san antonio, and thus the essay competition which got me there.

25 "emerging professionals" [as we are called because "intern" is no longer politically correct...thanks goes to monica l.] were selected from the pool of essays and will join with 50 other professionals from other architecture organizations. fueled around four catalytic words, empowering, innovating, envisioning, connecting, the hope is to take major steps towards a more cohesive and beneficial internship program. friday and saturday are filled with lectures and discussions. thursday night we begin with a reception to celebrate what has already been accomplished and naturally, will end with a similar gathering saturday night at the witte museum. the conference will conclude sunday with a time of de-briefing and a press conference.
all of this at no expense to me [my favorite part].

I am excited to begin my passage into the architecture world through IDP. As I begin my journey, I do not yet have the experience or knowledge necessary to walk on my own; I rely on the solid path of others who have gone before me. When I look back as I a professional, I hope I will have left a path for others to follow. We may only embark into the profession once, but we will spend ourcareers emerging into the mentors and architects we once dreamed of being. As the architecture community strengthens its fresh, moldable new members, the profession as a whole will be enriched and reinvigorated, which in turn will delineate a clearer path for future emerging professionals.
[essay excerpt]

first katrina, now rita. while most people are exiting these women's path of destruction, i am about to journey into it. i think i secretly believe i posses some unknown power to ward off any disaster upon my visit and nothing bad will happen. we'll see how that goes. i look forward to the new faces, new conversations, and new experiences.