Getting My Black Pin
Melanie Ray
Licensed 2018
Back in October, I attended the 2018 NOMA conference in Chicago. Along with being one of the busiest weekends of the season, it was also the most memorable. Exactly one year prior, I stood up when all of the ARE candidates were asked to be recognized during the general meeting. Exactly one year later, I was standing at the front of the banquet hall during the traditional ‘pinning’ ceremony, receiving my black NOMA pin from the same person who asked me to stand the year before, 2019 NOMA President Kimberly Dowdell. The black pin signifies that a member is a licensed architect. The timing is what is most striking about my story.
When I stood up last year, the timing couldn’t have been worse! I had just arrived for the conference the day before and was catching up with friends and colleagues I had not seen in months. I checked into my hotel room, dropped my bags and noticed I received an e-mail from NCARB. My score report was in, and assuming I would continue my lucky streak of passing, I logged into my account and saw a big, fat…FAIL! Like many young adults, after receiving bad news, I called my mom. During that conversation, she reminded me that I was surrounded by plenty of architects who had probably experienced the same thing; she told me to put on a brave face and start asking for advice.
I had been doing so well in the twelve months before. After being convinced by my coworkers to suck it up and study, I had managed to pass my first three exams in the first three months of 2017! I set a goal to be finished with my exams in one year. I shut everything down, disconnected from my social life and stayed in the books to ensure that I would pass on my first try and finish before the transition to ARE 5.0. Then, I took a nice, long break over the summer. If you ask anyone, it is harder to pick up and start studying again after you’ve had a taste of freedom. I even squeezed in a two week vacation to Peru, convinced that I would go through flashcards during plane rides and between day trips. Yeah right!
So was I shocked that I didn’t pass my first ARE 5.0 exam? Sure, but I could also say that I wasn’t surprised. I knew that this exam required my undivided attention, and I received that reminder on the first day of that conference last year. So the rest of that weekend, when people asked “How’s studying going?”, I put it all out there! “Well, I just received a fail yesterday, so it’s back to the drawing board”. I received so many encouraging words that restored the idea that failing wasn’t something unique to my exam experience.
When I returned back to Baltimore, I focused on the next exam (which I presumptuously scheduled to take a week later) and passed! After the holiday season, I scheduled my last exam, the retake of Project Development & Documentation. Even the name was daunting! I left no resource unturned that January, letting everyone in my office know that I was determined to pass this test (and to not schedule anything the week prior).
Of course, I couldn’t control all of the factors, and when the Philadelphia Eagles went to the Super Bowl that year (fly, eagles, fly), I was forced to push it one more day! However, that next day…PASS! Like a twisted joke, I passed my final exam exactly one year after passing my first exam, still meeting my goal of finishing all of my tests within a year.
So here I am – black, young, female, and licensed, ready to take on the next challenge this career wants to throw at me. To everyone out there trying to get through exams, I encourage you to talk about your struggle and share your failures and successes. It’s easy to get caught up in what everyone expects of you. However, in showing your vulnerabilities, you open the door for friends and loved ones to build you up and reach your final goal even faster.
-424*
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*When Melanie was licensed, she was 424th on the list of living African American women currently licensed in the US according to The Directory of African American Architects.
Connect with Melanie here.