Venesa Alicea-Chuqui (2010)

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Creating ENYA’s ARE study program
Venesa Alicea-Chuqui
Licensed 2010

Navigating the path to licensure can be daunting. In 2005, after graduating with a B. Arch degree from the City College of New York, I set a goal of working in an Architecture Firm and getting my license before I was 30. At the time, I was fortunate to already have a job in a small firm in Harlem, run by a Professor of mine. I completed almost all of my IDP (now called AXP) hours there, before switching to a larger office. In 2008, after completing the IDP and the NYS Experience duration, I received eligibility to test for the ARE. Continue reading →

Anta Miranda (2017)

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Getting My License Was A Team Sport
Anta Miranda
Licensed 2017

My journey started way before I ever knew what NCARB stands for, or what the licensing process in the US entails. In early 2011, I was working in London in an architectural practice, and, as far as I knew, London would be my home forever. It had been my adopted city for the past 5 years since I left my hometown Lisbon for a Masters Degree. However everything was not going according to plan, I was just made redundant for the second time.

The job market was better than the first time, roughly one year before in the peak of the financial crisis, and I found another position relatively fast. Then, everything changed.

In a surprising turn of events, I got a text message from my then boyfriend – “Let’s pack our bags, we are going to Washington DC!” He had just received the job offer he worked so hard for and our lives were about to change. I did not think twice about it, I just said yes on the spot, it is going to be one great adventure! Continue reading →

Garfield Peart (2009)

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The Best New Year’s Present Of My Life:
Surviving the Architecture Registration Exams.
Garfield Peart
Licensed 2009

As I think about the Architecture Registration Exam (ARE) process, there is only one word that really comes to mind;”STRESS”; Oh and one more – “PAIN”! I got licensed in May 2009 in the state of Virginia after starting three years prior while we were living in Williamsburg for a short period of time. I took the test when it was still nine sections with the three graphics sections – Site Design, Building Construction, and Building Planning – the only ones with vignettes.

I started off strong by passing Construction Documents (CDs). As with most of the tests, CDs has so much information, 50% I had never seen before, that I am still shocked with passing it the first time. After that momentum, I feel like I could have these tests licked! I went on to fail the next two sections, Material & Methods and General Structures; studying for both consumed much of the previous 6 to 8 months. I was absolutely crushed and wondered why anyone would put themselves through all this pain for a piece of paper!! It took all of me not to go back and retake those tests before proceeding with the others – almost a year in and only passing one test! I picked myself up and somehow got the courage to continue on with my original plan. I went on to surprisingly pass the next one – Lateral Forces – along with all three graphic sections on the first tries!! By that time I was back in Atlanta and transitioning into a new firm with all the confidence in the world.
Continue reading →

Thomas A. Allen (2010)

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7 and 0: An Undefeated Year
By Thomas A. Allen
Licensed 2010

black graduation silhouette_4245365—Pngtree— CROPWinding down the Spring of ‘06, I moved to Atlanta, GA after finally being done with several years of college. Thru the decade of my twenties I earned an Associate’s degree in Radio and TV Broadcasting, an Associate’s degree in Architecture, a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Masters of Architecture degree and was now burnt out on school. I was ready to start my new life as a young architect and my aim was to get my license and become a registered architect as soon as possible. In the mid-2000’s, most states required completion of all of your IDP hours before you could even get approved to take the exams. Only a few states allowed you to start the ARE while working on your IDP and Georgia was not one of them. Continue reading →

Heba Bella (2019)

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#468, an international path to licensure
By Heba Bella
Licensed 2019

World MapI’ll start my story a few years before I started the AREs, in Spring of 2012. I made a big decision; I was accepted into the Master of Architecture program at The Washington Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC) of Virginia Tech, and I decided to go for it. At the time, I was working in Dubai, and had graduated a year earlier from university in a nearby city called Sharjah. In two months, I would need to quit my job, pack my life in a couple of suitcases, and find a new place to live near Alexandria, VA. At the time, I had no idea what AREs even stood for! Continue reading →

Jordan Rhodes (2019)

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The Post-Passing Blues
Jordan Rhodes
Licensed 2019

Setting: Me sitting in the testing center looking at computer screen
Thank You…blah blah blah…Would you like to view the provisional feedback on your performance today? I literally submitted my answers with 40 seconds left. I really shouldn’t have moved up this exam. I wonder how close I am this time. I’m SO ready for a nap. What am I doing still sitting here?

I click Yes, View Feedback.

Provisional Feedback. This feedback…blah blah blah…Based on the preliminary assessment, you will likely pass this division. This concludes your test administration. Please collect your… WHAT! Based on the preliminary assessment, you will likely PASS this division. How in the world? I don’t remember checking out of the testing center or taking the elevator down to the lobby. My next memory is of me sitting in my car thinking I’m really done…What’s next? Continue reading →

Rod Henmi (1982)

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Five Days: My ARE Story (set to the sounds of Donna Summer)
Rod Henmi
Licensed 1982

In a place far, far away a long, long time ago, I took the ARE. It was the era of disco and we actually used our hands to draw. It was an incredibly difficult procedure: expensive, exhausting and inconvenient. The full exam was held only once a year. It took five days and the powers in charge of Missouri, my resident state at the time, made the clever decision to hold the exam halfway between the two biggest cities, St. Louis and Kansas City, so that almost everybody was required to drive at least two hours and spend four nights in a cheesy motel. The exam required you to take a week off from work and sit for days straight in a windowless, airless Ramada Inn ballroom. The design exam was twelve hours long and since you were only provided with a table and some blank sheets of paper, people brought drawing boards with mounted “Maylines” (aka parallel bar), boxes of tools, coolers with drinks and sandwiches, lamps and a few even brought drafting stools. Continue reading →

Smitha Vasan (2018)

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Sudden Focus to Conquer the AREs
Smitha C. Vasan
Exams Completed 2018

With new rules for the licensing process, professionals can now complete their exams before their internship hours or other state requirements are completed. As the goal of ArchStories is to capture personal stories about the exam process, we may occasionally post stories from professionals who are not licensed yet, but on their way. This post comes from one such person, Smitha Vasan who completed her exams in 2018 and is working to complete her other licensure requirements by within the next year.

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I remember how I began to study for the AREs. Upon graduating in 2017, I already had it in mind to complete the exams as quickly as possible, thanks to a few select mentors. What I didn’t expect was the one experience, during my first summer working full time, that would fuel my determination and propel me to accomplish my goal. Continue reading →

Andrew Thompson (2005)

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My Motivator
Andrew Thompson
Licensed 2005

I took the last written exam back in 1995 before NCARB switched over to computers. At that time, the entire exam was given once a year over a four-day period.

I did the whole 12-hour charrette with about 1,000 other folks on some pier in New York City. That was some stress! I ended passing only Site Design so the following year, I marched into the new era of doing the exam on the computers. Continue reading →

Valarie Franklin (2014)

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Friends, Fears, Fulfillment
Valarie Franklin
Licensed 2014

Failure is something that many people fear. It can hinder people from pursuing their dreams. For Valarie Franklin, her fears actually propelled her forward. For her, getting her license represented a milestone in her architecture career that was a personal requirement. The path to get her license was long, but her determination fueled her toward this accomplishment despite her fear of not accomplishing her goal. Continue reading →