“I’ve always wanted to be an architect. I’ve been making miniature models of things since I was a little kid.

I wasn’t a very motivated high school student and had a low GPA. Because of family financial issues, they couldn’t help me pay for college, so I had to get a job.

For three years, I worked full-time as a glazier installing glass on skyscrapers while taking classes at Salt Lake Community College. SLCC has a really good architecture program designed to transfer students into the University of Utah’s architecture program. Their upper-level architecture classes are actually University of Utah curriculum taught by U professors, but at SLCC tuition rates, so I was able to afford it. After I completed my associate’s degree, I was accepted to the U and started taking classes there in 2023.

My path wasn’t what I originally planned, but it taught me a lot about the real world. College is when people become adults and it shouldn’t be thought of as high school part two. I had to solve problems, and working in construction gave me actual industry experience for architecture. When I graduate next spring, I’ll have eight years of experience in the industry.

My favorite experience at the University of Utah has been the people. Architecture studios function like cohorts where students move through the program together and workshop projects. Because I work full time, I’ve had to complete the program part time and out of order. That means I’m constantly changing cohorts and haven’t had a consistent group.

This has made it difficult to make friends, but there are people who have been incredibly warm and welcoming. They’ve accepted me as a friend after only knowing me for a few weeks. In some places, people can be cliquey, but this community has been very welcoming, and I appreciate that.

A few years ago, I learned how to sketch and decided I wanted to focus on historic architecture in Salt Lake City. This city isn’t especially good at preserving historic architecture. So much has already been lost and there are many things we see today that we don’t realize won’t exist during our lifetimes. My goal is to create a historic record of some of the architecture here and give it the attention it deserves.

When I started installing windows on skyscrapers right out of high school, I didn’t have a car. I rode my bike to work every day for years. That’s how I got to know alleyways and hidden paths that you would never discover while driving. There’s so much more to the city when you experience it at that micro level.

This year I am selling my work at the Salt Lake City farmers market because I want to share some of those places that you can only discover by getting out and exploring. I also want to connect with people who have lived here much longer than I have and I want to learn their secrets and hear what they love about this place. You can live somewhere your entire life and never see certain places simply because you’ve never walked there. Constant exposure to people and sharing the things we love about this place is the best way to collect information and understand the city more deeply.”

— Curtis Beplay, senior, College of Architecture and Planning,

from Lubbock, Texas