Hello, my name is Micah Lloyd Wood. And yes, I share a middle name with none other than Frank Lloyd Wright so maybe my parents thought I would be an architect from the beginning. Side note, it is my great-grandfather's name. Let's go back to the beginning of why I chose this path. In my childhood, I grew up in a family that renovated houses. It was often thought that if we can't fix it ourselves we can't afford it. With my mother having a degree in interior design, and a father who did all the renovating you could say that this was not a surprising path. Some of my fond memories as a child were doing renovations and helping make design choices in these renovations. Not many kids would say making mac and cheese in a bathtub is a fond childhood memory or placing tile or cabinets in a kitchen renovation as bonding time with their family. Further, into this, I always thought the kids that played football with their dad were weird because I grew up taking walls out and learning about construction.

 

But now let's fast forward a bit, to when I knew I wanted to be an architect. My family could testify to this that I was telling people back in sixth grade that being an architect was my dream job. I just had this fascination with design, even though at that time I didn't know what that was. Fast forward again to when I was learning to drive. I would go and drive expensive neighborhoods around the lake country and examine these houses and critique them with my realtor Grandma. We would often question some of these design choices. This fascination with different aspects of architecture continued to grow and turned commercial around tenth grade.

 

This is when I started my job as a janitor/custodian for my local school district. Trust me, there is a difference between the two but you don't have time for that. Anyway with this, I learned a lot about the functionality of buildings and how buildings can have many aspects of form, but lack what is needed to run these buildings. I ran into a lack of simple things like small maintenance closets. I had to be a gymnast to get the custodial cart in and out. This is a point you may be thinking, “Why is this important in his journey to wanting to be an architect?” It inspires me to not only think about the form of the building but also the functionality for all those who have to use the building.

 

Now to briefly mention one of my passions which is mission trips. Giving back in any way is my goal as I continue in life because we can't ignore people who are struggling just because we were born more fortunate than them. So that is something that influences my designs, how to give back and also not harm the environment in which these buildings are built. With this, I see a more sustainable future ahead and we must move our designs in that way. Finally, I want to touch on my progress as a designer in this program. I had no art skills as my first-year professors can attest, but I worked to develop these skills and didn't allow myself to give up because this is a passion and I don't give up easily. 

 

In conclusion, I hope this gives you a semi-brief look into my life and why I would like to call myself an architect someday.