Go For Your Dreams
By Carla Flagg
Licensed 2021
My architecture journey is one of perseverance, grit, and never giving up on your dream.
I graduated from California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo in 1994 (Go Mustangs), excited by my accomplishment of earning my Bachelor of Architecture degree and looking forward to the next phases of life. During college, I was introduced to the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) and through networking at conferences and finding mentors, I landed my first architecture job with NOMA founder, Harold Williams, in his downtown Los Angeles office. He, along with so many others spoke to me about the importance of licensure and being counted as an African American Architect within the profession. I was pumped, I was excited, and in 1999, began this journey towards licensure. I know what you’re thinking…1999 that’s 22 years ago. Well, yes, it is, but this is after all a story about perseverance and never giving up on your dream. So, what happened?
In my early days, I remember hearing experiences of those who had to take all 9 sections of the exam over a 4-day period and often thought I would have benefited from that structured format, knowing I had maybe once or twice a year to prepare, but as it was, I could schedule my exams at will and took my first computerized exam in 1999, passing Pre-Design and Site Planning. I was on a roll, taking exams or re-taking exams over time. Well, during this period a few things happened: 1) NCARB implemented the 5-year rolling clock** and 2) California implemented the Intern Development Program (IDP). For those of us testing in California, we were grandfathered into the process, and if we actively tested, IDP was waived.
I kept taking my exams, transitioning from version 3.0 to 3.1 to 4.0, and got to my final exam in 2009. It was Structural Systems. I had taken and not passed that a few times and this is when my rolling clock caught up to me. I received a letter that I had to complete all my exams by July 1, 2009, but because I had to wait 6 months to retake Structural Systems, I was not eligible till July 8, 2009. I called NCARB, I called the California Architects Board, I called whoever I could to get an extension or take the exam early and was denied. With that several of the exams I passed earlier would all expire, and I was faced with taking 5 of the 7 exams under version 4.0 again.
To say I was crushed would be an understatement and it took me about 3 1/2 years before I seriously starting testing again in November 2013. My new clock was set to expire in November 2018. I made my way through the version 4.0 exams and was down to one exam (ARE 4.0 Building Design and Construction Documents) that I needed to pass by June 2018 before the transition to ARE 5.0.
Brace yourself, for another lesson in determination, growth, and the human spirit.
I didn’t pass the BDCD exam. I was forced to transition to ARE 5.0, and informed that BDCD would turn into two exams that I had to pass before November 2018 (when my rolling clock expired) or I would be faced with retaking 5 of the 6 ARE 5.0 exams again.
Well, how bad could this be? What are the 2 new exams I need to study for and pass within the next 3 months?….
I had to pass Project Planning and Design (PPD) and Project Development and Documentation (PDD).
Well okay, let’s do this!
I passed PPD in October but did not pass PDD. My rolling clock expired for a second time, and now I had to take the new exams in version 5.0.
Sigh….
This time, I did not delay, I jumped right back into it and passed all the exams by December 2020. I could elaborate on how it took almost 3 months to get my last exam test results finalized. (NCARB delayed sending out results as they calibrated the new exam.) Yet believe you me, when the results came out and I saw that final PASS, I was ecstatic beyond belief.
Because my IDP process was waived by the state of California, I needed to complete licensure here. I took and passed my California Supplemental Exam and by June 2021, I am officially a licensed architect.
I hope sharing my experience does not hinder anyone from trying but encourages others to pursue their goals and dreams regardless of the trials. Life happens (marriage, jobs, family, taking care of loved ones, etc.) It’s not the length of time it takes to achieve a goal, it’s the progress and completion of achieving that goal that makes you a success. Go for your dreams, regardless of what they are.
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**Explanation of the start of the ARE rolling clock.
Image:
Photo by Alex Azabache on Unsplash