Yu Na Song

Personal Achievement Reflection

For a long period of time, I always struggled with finding a potential program I could
explore at post-secondary. I was often influenced by my peers and many of my peers wanted to
go into the science or arts program, so I thought I should go into one of those programs too.
However, as time passed, I realized I did not have passion for any of those programs, and after
doing some research, I found that there were vast amounts of programs at post-secondary, and
it was not limited to just science and arts. I started talking to my parents and I opened up about
my struggle with finding a passion. After many dinner discussions, my mother helped me realize
my passion for design. During my free time, I always liked to bullet journal, design my notes
creatively and artistically, or decorate my room. I was intrigued to explore the art and design
field because I always thought that field was narrowed to visual arts. However, I was amazed to
find so many possibilities in the design field which included graphic design, architecture, interior
design, and many more. Within here, I found an area I was interested in which was design in
architecture. I discovered the program on the UBC website and the UofT website and reading
through the program details gave me a spark of joy and I knew this was an area I wanted to
study.

The time I realized my passion for the design field was when I was halfway through my
grade 11 year and although I met the pre-requisites, I noticed my background experiences
lacked art. The only time I was able to take an art course at school was when I was in grade 10
and afterwards, it was difficult to continue because I was only given one elective and I was
doing band at the time. Therefore, I spent a lot of my time outside of school, learning and
creating my own art projects to build a potential portfolio, but it was definitely difficult to learn
about the architecture field on my own. Luckily, I found out the UBC School of Architecture and
Landscape Architecture (SALA) offered a two-week design discovery course which taught design
fundamentals in architecture. I was lucky to take part in this program because many of the
potential design courses I signed up for were cancelled due to the pandemic, however, the UBC
course was offered online which gave me an opportunity.

The program took place in the summer break, and I was worried because 3 projects
were completed over the time frame of two weeks and the projects were equivalent to projects
that the Master of Architecture students do as well. Moreover, I was also taking biology 12
online for summer school, and I also had an online barista training program going on all at the
same time. I was lucky to find that the schedules of each program did not overlap, however, I
knew I would have to manage my time well to keep up with all three programs. Although I was
exhausted, my passion for this field motivated me to continue and I was eager to learn more
about architecture especially because I was a beginner. After the program was over, I was
extremely proud of myself for having my completed projects and see my improvement as an
individual and in my skills after the two weeks. I really enjoyed collaborating with everyone else
from varying ages and backgrounds all interested in the field of architecture.

With my personal achievement, my skills instantly improved with design and planning. I
was able to gain confidence when asking mentors and professors for feedback on my work, and
I significantly improved in public speaking because I had the experience of presenting my
project to everyone in the program. My creativity helped me create projects that were unique
to me, and I was able to tell a story with my projects which made them special. I also started to
examine buildings and pavilions in my community after this program and I was amazed to see
special architectural designs in many places across Vancouver. Moreover, I had strong
realization that I really enjoyed the design field. With connections to my future, the skills I
learned have already helped me with my portfolios for university and I was even accepted into
the UofT Design in Architecture and Landscape Architecture program which is a very
competitive program. I know my skills from the Design Discovery program will help me at post-
secondary, and I know my confidence skills can help me reach out to professionals in the area
and ask for feedback and advice.

Overall, I am very proud of myself for completing the online Design Discovery program
while handling two other online courses and learning a significant amount of architecture
elements. Taking the program boosted my confidence and knowledge in the field, and it also
helped me realize this was my passion and a field I want to study after high school.