Over this week, I have had the pleasure of being accompanied by Ruhan and Trang who have been understanding, communicative, encouraging, inquisitive and inspirational. I have had an eye opening externship experience because of their personal determinations, backgrounds and their journeys to the realm of architecture. Their kindness and approachability helped me with professional growth and understanding a positive workplace culture, making this externship memorable. So, thank you to my two very enthusiastic buddies who I got to enjoy lots of trip with!

I am deeply committed to continuous learning and skill enhancement, with the goal of making a positive impact in both my academic and professional endeavors, as well as fostering personal growth. I actively seek to maintain valuable connections with my mentors and actively pursue opportunities for my development as a student and designer.

My experience working alongside my externship teammates was incredibly rewarding. We shared stories and exchanged architectural insights, creating a delightful and enriching collaborative journey. Although I was familiar with my teammates before the Connex, this experience heightened my appreciation for their unique qualities. Together, we constitute an exceptional team, each contributing our distinct styles and experiences.

During the externship, the author was mentored by Andy, whom they greatly admire for his thoughtfulness and approachability as a mentor. Andy was impressed with his active listening and thoughtful responses to questions. His meticulous and innovative work ethic fostered genuine connections with colleagues and community members. The author is grateful for Andy's commitment to enhancing their experience at William Rawn Associates and introducing them to a close-knit community. The experience included meetings, gatherings, site visits, and exposure to various aspects of leadership, teamwork, engagement, communication, research, well-being, and community involvement that enriched their learning.

During this entire externship, we had the amazing opportunity to be under the mentorship of Andy. Andy's thoughtfulness and approachability are some of the qualities I most admire in mentors. As a mentee, one should be inquisitive and attentive to their mentor, always keeping in mind the opportunities and knowledge a mentor provides through their experience and insight. Andy was always great to listen to, always attentive to our questions with detailed and thoughtful responses, having a meticulous and innovative attitude towards his work, and having genuine interactions with the people around him and community members.

I am really grateful for Andy's thoughtfulness to our experience at William Rawn Associates and introducing us to the great community he works with. I was able to learn so much because of the great care that went into planning and coordinating the meetings, the gatherings, the site visits, and exposing us to all the levels of leadership, teamwork, engagement, communication, research, wellbeing, and community that make these great projects possible!

Also, thank you to all the talented people who welcomed us and made us feel part of the firm and made this experience memorable! I hope that there will be more opportunities to work and learn from you and I wish you all the best!

Today, we had the great opportunity to visit Mount Auburn Cemetery with Liz and Lauren from WRA and talk to Katelyn and Bethany about the different processes happening in an around the cemetery and the historic significance of Bigelow Chapel.

The project involves a renovation of the historic Bigelow Chapel built in 1846 to make the space more accessible, inclusive, and diverse for all the living and those who are resting here. The project embraces the surrounding landscape through large views from the modern addition and creates a safe space for those who visit the chapel, are grieving, and creates a space that people can celebrate different occasions in. The historic renovation involved many people, the most interesting to me being the meticulous work of artisans who extracted the stained glass from the chapel, cleaned them and reinstalled them to their former glory.

Today, we visited the Bigelow Chapel at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, a project by William Rawn. This undertaking focused primarily on restoring the chapel to make it more welcoming for all visitors. The restoration of the historic 1845 Bigelow Chapel, coupled with the incorporation of a modern crematory, has significantly enhanced the entrance area of Mount Auburn. The addition of a glass structure now offers unobstructed views of Mount Auburn's picturesque landscape, allowing arriving visitors to appreciate the scenery fully. Inside the chapel is a peaceful garden within the viewing room where commitment ceremonies occur.

Intercultural competence is a skill that is able to connect people of different backgrounds and cultures by creating healthy environments that bridge the differences between cultures to attain many goals.

At our tour at the Boston Public Library, we learned that the library vowed to always make it Free to All by prioritizing the public's access to the library even when the renovations were taking place. We also observed a lot of the influences of the old library designed by McKim, Mead and White and its influences on the renovation of the Boylston Street Building. The firm placed a lot of importance on following the library's motto of Free to All by creating spaces for all types of people such as the Cafe, lecture halls, teen room, children's room, business library, the multicultural section, DVD and video section, and more. We were able to end our tour at the WGBH Radio Station where many people gathered around to listen to Mayor Michelle Wu!