My name is Kelly and I have recently graduated from Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI. My next step is to find a job at a respected and design-conscious architecture firm where I hope to further develop my skills in architectural design and grow as a professional.

I am very proud to have completed Roger William University’s dual degree program with a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Architecture this June. I was awarded the Henry Adams Certificate, as the second ranked graduating architecture student, and completed the 5 1/2 to 6 year program in just 5 years. I hope this is proof that I am a committed, focused, and hard working person, and I know this attitude will continue in any professional setting. The School of Architecture, Art, and Historic Preservation (SAAHP) truly became a second home to me and I will miss the many friends I made, the challenging and collaborative studio culture, and the inspiring professors.  One of the highlights of my time at Roger Williams was a semester abroad in Florence, Italy. This trip awakened in me a new desire to see all the beautiful places of the world and experience different cultures and world views.

At Roger Williams I also minored in Anthropology and Sociology. In this program, I learned new ways to view the world, interpret cultures, and see architecture in a new light. Two courses in particular inspired me: Political Ecology and Sustainable Development in Amazonia, both taught by Dr. Jeremy Campell. Political ecology studies the relationships that different groups of people have to their natural and physical environment. I was again able to travel abroad for the course Sustainable Development in Amazonia.  For this service learning course, I traveled to Santarem, Brazil in the heart of the Amazon rainforest and learned about ways that Brazilian people can survive off the resources of the rainforest without destroying it. I also participated in a reforestation project while in Brazil.

For my thesis project I sought to combine these two interests in architecture and anthropology/sociology. The project involved an in-depth study of Burmese culture and the refugee policies of the United States. With this knowledge, I proposed an improved system of refugee resettlement and designed a resettlement center to aid in the process. The program for the building was built around the concepts of “bonding social networks” and “bridging social networks” as described by anthropologist Dr Maja Korac. Bonding social networks are the relationships formed between two people who are similar to each other (in this case, the refugees) and bridging social networks are the relationships formed between two people who are different from each other (the refugees and larger community where they are resettled). When this concept is applied to refugee resettlement, it is clear that in order for a refugee to completely acclimate to a new home, he/she must form both bonding social networks with other refugees and bridging social networks with native members of the larger community.

Thank you for taking the time to read a little bit about me, and I hope you will explore my portfolio website further. Please email me with any questions, comments, or job opportunities.