My name is Chenglu Xue. I graduated from Tianjin University in China with a bachelor's degree, and then came to the United States to pursue a master's degree with a strong passion for architectural design. I graduated with a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

When I look back on my experiences, including my hard work during my undergraduate studies, my internship at Gerkan, Marg and Partners Architects, and my new graduate program in the USA, I feel very fulfilled and happy, and I am even more convinced that architecture is my passion.

I believe that architecture is not a simple commodity that can be copied. I participated in a commercial architecture competition in my undergraduate years, where my teammates and I focused on the fading culture of the old city and preserved the former cultural landscape through the form of a commercial street. This competition not only gave me the honor, but more importantly, gave me more encouragement to understand that valuing culture and history
is a necessary quality for an architect. 

Moreover, architecture is not a perfect fantasy made up out of thin air. After I interned at gmp Architects, I learned how to control the cost, how to communicate with the builder, and how to make the design as good as possible under many constraints. All of these are crucial, and they all have a direct impact on the final presentation of the building. I benefited from that experience which sharpened my mind to be more patient and careful in dealing with problems.

I am confident that the time I spend working for your company will be extremely beneficial to my professional development. I hope your firm can give me this opportunity. I believe my passion and talent for architectural design can infect other employees.