Jennifer T. Matthews
Associate AIA, NOMA, Lean Practitioner
Founder of Creative’s XP LLC
Jennifer Matthews is an Architectural Designer at SS&A Design Collective and Founder of Creative’s XP LLC. Jennifer has worked on architectural projects for multiple DC Metro healthcare providers and nationwide government entities. She was awarded the 2018 Healthcare Design Magazine's Educator Honor Award for creating an annual event that introduced architecture students to healthcare design and career opportunities.
Jennifer is a 2013 architecture graduate from the Tuskegee University Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science and 2020 graduate of the Business Design and Arts Leadership program at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She also served as the 2013-2014 National Vice President of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and 2015-2019 President of the Tuskegee Architecture and Construction Alumni Association (TACAA).
A Creative’s Xperience
When I graduated from architecture school in 2013, I was fortunate to be elected as the National Vice President of The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) by its membership. I was also being recruited by two very different Master’s programs, one for Urban Planning and the other for Integrated Design and Building Construction. The common denominator of these opportunities was that they were design-based, leadership-based, and exceptional platforms to establish a successful career. I was one of the fortunate few who had multiple options; whereas, many others did not know which way to turn.
I think back and realize how little we discussed what we would like to do post-graduation. The assumption was that we would all graduate, work for an architecture firm, and get licensed. I also realize how many students based their post-graduate careers and education on the trends of the faculty at the University, which was urban planning at the time. The reality was that a singular career path was not the best fit for everyone. Some colleagues were fortunate to work in an architecture firm, but others weren’t hired before graduation and the months following. For those individuals who did not land a job in a firm, they had very little guidance on how to get on the right track or navigate a career path that best utilized their skill set. Some pursued graduate degrees in urban planning and never used the degree after acquiring the student loan debt.
My underlying concern for the professional development of architecture students and graduates followed me to the AIAS national position and beyond. I had an interest in professional development but did not feel like I had an unbiased platform to highlight traditional and nontraditional career paths. I needed my own platform to really address the tough conversations surrounding careers in architecture and design.
After my experience with the AIAS and working in an architecture firm for two years, I was no longer interested in a design-based graduate degree. I wanted to understand the business side of creative entities and how to establish a startup company. The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) offered a degree in Business Design and Arts Leadership (now titled Creative Business Leadership), and it was the perfect mix of creative business strategy with the underlying understanding of business finances. The degree, in my opinion, was like the “creative approach to an MBA.” I decided to pursue this degree to understand how creative businesses operated with the ultimate goal to launch a professional development platform that would support architectural graduates in their paths towards career success.
I focused on the makings of Creative’s XP during my last three courses in the curriculum - entrepreneurship practicum, graduate thesis, and my final project. The beginning phases of my efforts included a lot of analysis to justify the need for the service or company. Included in that analysis was a student-based survey within the DC Metro area to understand how Creative’s XP could help students prepare for their career pursuit and search. Within a 20 student pool, the largest majority was third and fourth-year students who were closer to graduation and their full-time career search. The students considered the skills below as the most valuable that they had obtained during their architecture education -
Creative Thinking, Design Thinking, Problem Solving
Process Management and Time Management
Technical Skills, Drafting, and BIM / CAD Skills
Public Speaking, Presentation Skills, and Networking
Graphic Design, Illustration, Presentation Layout Skills
These skills represent a summary of the long list of skills that come with architectural training. Not only is it a wide range of skills, but they are also skills that apply to so many different career paths. It is fortunate that we, as architecture graduates, can pursue so many different avenues; however, how do we sort out which avenue is a good fit? How do we begin to learn more about various career paths and create a supportive network if the foundation is not established during educational studies?
Within the survey, I found that 50% of students reported that their architecture department and professors did not discuss alternative career paths and 20% of the students were unsure. Nonetheless, 65% of the students would still pursue traditional and non-traditional internships and jobs, while 25% would pursue nontraditional paths only and 10% traditional paths only. With the overwhelming report of students interested in nontraditional career paths, we owe it to our emerging professionals to provide them the necessary resources and network to be successful. This does not mean we completely shift architectural education to a career-day-style mix of all careers. Instead, we should include specific conversations on the many possibilities of career opportunities that can come from an architectural degree. Just as we do firm tours, we should arrange introductions and networking opportunities for other allying design careers as well.
Creative Careers
The most exciting part of the survey was the many careers our students were interested in. Check them out below -
Traditional Practice of Architecture and the Various Design Sectors
Construction Management
Interior Design
Social Justice / Law
Industrial Design
Urban Planning / Development
Real Estate
Civil Engineering
Graphic Design
Marketing
General Business Ownership, Outside of Traditional Practice
Animation
Fashion Design
Videography
Landscape Architecture
Project Management
Public Art
Sustainable design
Set Design
Product Design
Jewelry Design
Furniture Design
Creative’s XP
Our Takeaways from the Survey:
Students want to know more about the various design sectors within architecture, but the curiosity really lies in the understanding of careers outside of architecture firms.
100% of the students who participated in the survey felt that a platform such as Creative’s XP would be helpful assist in exploratory opportunities.
Seminars and exploratory workshops were among the most highly desired forms of learning for the students.
The students preferred to travel off-campus and conduct their learning at a neutral site so they can tour companies, meet various creative professionals, and engage with students from other universities.
Based on the survey findings, I tested the concept of Creative’s XP with an initial event hosted at SmithGroup’s DC office February 22nd, 2020. The event was titled Creative’s Xplore and featured three creative professionals from different backgrounds. Roughly 35 students and emerging professionals participated in lectures, breakout sessions, and toured SmithGroup’s office. There was an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the event and interest in future Creative’s XP effort, so here we are years later! Please look out for future Creative’s XP events, efforts, and services.