2022 Summer Internship: Cindy Abazie

The Architecture and Design Foundation and AIA Dallas were delighted to participate in the 2022 Richardson Mayor’s Summer Internship Program. Our intern, Cindy Abazie, shares parting thoughts on her work over the summer. We would like to thank JHP Architecture / Urban Design for sponsoring Cindy’s internship and wish Cindy all the best as she pursues her goal of becoming an urban planner.

LEGOS

Puzzles are fun, I think so anyway. The path is usually straightforward, and everything follows a certain set of steps to get to the endpoint. It’s predictable, and you usually know what the product is going to look like or assume what it’s going to look like based on predictions and steps you should take. Despite this, I always find it fun to look at the completed set, whether it be picture puzzles or logic puzzles like sudoku, and appreciate my efforts. The same applied to “The Starry Night” Lego set I completed last week. Before this, the most exposure I had to Legos was stepping on random bricks from my brother’s builds, and consequently writhing in pain. It’s not to say that I viewed them in a negative light, it was more that I preferred them already put together than apart and scattered within my footpath. The set was a 3D replica of a painting by the same name, created by the famous artist, Vincent Van Gough. I expected the process to be tedious and frustrating, my expectations, however, were disproven. The process did take a while, don’t get me wrong. I was putting brick onto brick, creating structures that looked exactly like the last, and for the first hour, having no clue what I was creating, and wondering how a hollow bright red brick was going to fit into a model filled to the brim with greens and blues. Eventually, though, things started to take form. The minuscule abstract pieces became rolling hills and the inorganic and oddly shaped blocks turned into burling clouds. The process became so interesting that I made completing the model my top priority. Once the model was complete, I took a step back, admired the product, and took a dozen pictures to show off to my brothers.

END OF PROGRAM

I knew I wasn’t going to be an intern forever, but I’m surprised at how quickly my time here flew by. While working on signs, taking pictures, and giving tours, the thought of this position being temporary completely slipped my mind. Now that my time in the program is over, it’s hit me how much I’m going to miss working here. I enjoyed talking to people about the gallery displays and taking part in meetings where I got to make connections with people in the field. Building the two-thousand-piece lego set was fun, and so was making signs for the lego lab and gathering information for my presentation. Sketching concepts, coming up with prototypes, and learning while I was working made each day feel new and refreshing. Above all, my coworkers are amazing! They’re all super cool and welcoming and made my time here worthwhile. I had a lot of fun working at AD EX, and I’m really grateful for my experience.