What We Have Learned

by Michelle Keeven
Graduate in Interior Architecture and Product Design

Good Morning, everyone. Thank you so much for coming all the way to Manhattan to celebrate graduation with us. Thinking about the reality of this day, I have to be honest, just started in the past couple of months. In those short months, I have caught myself trying to hold on to this college life I have going on, sometimes on a subconscious level. You definitely know you are holding on when you actually crave Ramen noodles. I wish I was kidding.

The past five years have been some for the books. We came in here, having no idea what we were getting ourselves into. I remember looking at the future projects thinking, ‘there is no way I can build that.’ Well, turns out we didn’t have a choice. Together, we survived that first year, including freak injuries while model building, bad studio grades, and getting caught by the cops hanging out on the third-story ledge outside of studio…you know who you are. Despite the hardships, we made it into our prospective majors, and the long hours came quite naturally.

I know for a fact that we are a tight knit class. The non-architecture majors in the dorms were envious of what we all had and wished that THEY too would have to go to studio sometimes. Making friends comes naturally inside the Seaton walls, mostly because, despite our diverse backgrounds, we understand each other. In this IA class of 27, we have people from Korea, Jamaica, and the exotic Greenfield, Missouri, all in one room. The life inside Seaton is hard to explain to outsiders. They just cannot comprehend how a college campus building can be open for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I think I can safely say that someone is always holding down the fort.

While the design shop is not open 24/7, it is also a whole different world. The looks we get from passers-by outside the windows during class are priceless. I guess it’s not everyday you see 5 foot 3 Kate Fuller welding a solid steel bookshelf together. We all have completely separate and unique projects, but most of them probably had about 20 hands working on them at some time during the grueling process. Helping each other out has become a second nature, and I truly think that that is something special. The IA shop has finally come to an end. We will no longer have access to an endless supply of plywood, free veneer, or the genius that is Rod Troyer.

We have all been molded, whether we realize it or not, into designers in some way, shape or form. I look at the changes in all of you from when we were first years to now, whether it be in the work or as people in general, and they are truly great transformations. We will take the learning experiences and memories we have so far, some school related, some not, and remember them for years to come. Although years from now I wouldn’t like for Ramen to be the first thing that pops into my head, I will look back and smile at most of the following things that I, and we all, have learned.

We’ve learned how to be punctual. When you get turned away from structures once, it is not often repeated.

We’ve learned how to budget our finances. Foam core and happy hour can often coincide with each other.

I know my classmates have learned how to pay attention. They know if I am anywhere near the table saw, they should take cover immediately.

We’ve learned how to speak someone else’s language, or at least try. While studying abroad, my classmates and I stumbled through Italian, German, Czech, and Japanese, usually resulting in foreigners replying in English.

We’ve learned how to appreciate being alive. When you have been on enough field trips in K-State vans with professors, you have never been so happy to be off of the freeway.

We’ve learned how to time manage. The project always seemed to get finished faster before a fifth- year pub crawl.

We have learned how to love history. Mick Charney’s first-year class was the beginning of a respect for architecture that I hope we never lose.

We learned how to laugh. From seeing Feras wipe out on his skateboard in the hallway to Lauren’s brutal honesty, I have not been deprived of humor.

We learned how to embrace our differences. I have listened to landscape student Gabe Hogan drone on about things like tree species and erosion control, but he still knows how to go out and have a good time.

Five years have passed, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this class. Thank you for everything, and I hope that you all enjoy what you decide to do. If I have learned anything, it is that we still have a lot to learn…enjoy the ride.