Summer Studies in Architecture at the College Level

This past summer four students of Architecture II and III at Sierra Canyon studied in three different renowned university programs—Christopher Kassabian ’20 and Dylan Dyne ’20 both at USC, Adrian Moreira-Behrens ’20 at Stanford, and Jordan Pillsbury ’19 at Washington University.

The architecture programs were geared toward high school students but taught by current professors at the respective universities. This gave SC students the unique opportunity to engage in college-level discourse. To their surprise, few other high school students in these programs had previous experiences designing structures in the way that Sierra Canyon students have enjoyed over the recent years with Mr. Benz and Ms. Northup. 
 
Upon completion of their programs, attendees made the following observations:
 
“I absolutely loved it. The Wash U program was an intensive studio experience from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., led by four professors and their TA’s – all die-hards who truly dedicated themselves to architecture. I wanted a summer experience that would help me decide if architecture is, indeed, the field I want to commit my life to, and I got exactly what I wanted. Now I know for sure it’s architecture.”
- Jordan Pillsbury ’19
 
“Portfolio development was the main thing in the USC program. Working extensively with programs such as InDesign and Photoshop, we spent a lot of time transforming abstract images, such as patterns, rather than designing actual structures, as we do at SC. I learned that if I were to major in architecture in college, I’d also minor in business. This experience showed me how vital knowledge of business management is in the field.”
- Dylan Dyne ’20
 
“Studying at USC this summer made me more determined than ever to study architecture.”          
 - Chris Kassabian ’20
 
“My classes at Stanford taught me a lot about the design process and made me a better artist. At the end, we presented our final project to an architecture firm in Palo Alto. It was such an amazing experience, and I made new friends from around the world.”
 - Adrian Moreira-Behrens ’20
Lower School: 11052 Independence Avenue
Middle and Upper School: 20801 Rinaldi Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311  | 818.882.8121
Sierra Canyon School is a private, independent, non-sectarian, co-educational, college preparatory school for students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12 located in Chatsworth, California. The highly cosmopolitan campus community is reflective of the Greater Los Angeles area and the world at large. Students are empowered to realize their greatest creative, ethical, intellectual and physical promise through small class sizes, a diverse student-teacher culture and a family-like environment.