KSQ Reaches Out: Helping Students Learn About Design

Our passion for education and community outreach was ignited recently when our Tulsa office was asked to visit the Educare Pre-K classroom at Hawthorne Elementary in Tulsa Public Schools and talk about design inspiration as part of their architecture unit. Heather Miller from marketing and Adriana Vadasz from the interior design team were a great fit–bringing both a love of children and design talent to brighten their day and expand their young minds to what's possible. Iggy Peck, Architect, one of our favorite children's books, was the kickoff to our lesson. [caption id="attachment_5854" align="aligncenter" width="820"] The students loved the book Iggy Peck, Architect and Heather's charming way with children.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5856" align="aligncenter" width="820"] Adriana explained to the students how, even as professionals, we sometimes use tools like Play-Doh and Legos to model our designs. Our visit was a big hit with the students, but Heather and Adriana may have gotten even more out of it. We're currently thinking of ways we can continue to give back to this and other classrooms in the local community. Thank you, Ms. Rachel Richardson, for inviting us to your classroom![/caption] [caption id="attachment_5853" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] A nice thank-you note complete with the students' thumbprints was presented to Heather and Adriana.[/caption]

In Charlotte, our office recently hosted a group of Myer's Park High School students as part of the ACE Mentor program. The students spent time getting a brief overview of all the different aspects of KSQ, including a presentation on the marketing department, the design process, the role that graphics take in all aspects of our work, software we use to create documents, a walk through of a set of construction documents (and what software we use to produce them), and what goes into construction administration.
[caption id="attachment_5871" align="aligncenter" width="823"] Stefan Pinheiro shows students the finish boards for a current project in the Charlotte studio.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5858" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Doug Kopec and Nelson Soggs speak to the students about construction administration and the importance of ensuring the project is built according to our design.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5862" align="aligncenter" width="823"] Students in the ACE program across Charlotte are gearing up for a competition in May, and we also helped them with resume, interviewing and presentation skills in order to get them ready for the event. Whether in our offices or in the classroom, our staff always enjoy the opportunity to educate and influence young minds about what we do![/caption]