by Chloe Gillespie, Associate ASLA, Magdalena Aravena, PLA, ASLA, Jennifer Ng, PLA, ASLA, Adrian Alexander, Associate ASLA, Megan Barnes, Lexi Banks, Associate ASLA, Gretchen Wilson, PLA, ASLA, LEED, WEDG, Emily Siler, Associate ASLA, Kim Case, PLA, ASLA, CSI CDT®, and Dr. Bo Zhang, ASLA
Congratulations, Class of 2024!
All your hard work is paying off and you are getting your degree! For many of you, this has been a day you have been dreaming about for years, and now it is finally here. So many of you were not able to have a proper high school graduation, making this year extra special. This is your time to shine and come up into the profession ready to put your new knowledge and skills to work. To help get you started, the ASLA Student Support and Engagement Committee has collected some words of wisdom to share with you from recent graduates, current students, and seasoned professionals.
We hope you find meaning in these words and you can rely on them as you establish your career. Throughout your career in landscape architecture, there will be great days and there will be rough patches you will have to learn how to manage and adapt to. But for you, that is nothing new: you navigated your way through college during a global pandemic. Figuring out how to be flexible and persevere are skills that are learned the hard way, but they are invaluable skills to have. And it’s okay to change—iteration is a part of design.
We hope these words of advice encourage you and inspire you as you emerge into the extraordinary world of landscape architecture. Congratulations again, Class of 2024! Keep up the great work!