Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Extra Credit...

One semester of college under my belt. I took Art Appreciation and CAD Fundamentals this semester and received "A's" in both courses. The work took some getting used to, and the nights of working until at least 1 AM seemed perpetual. Although some assignments were difficult I got into a work rhythm and they proved to be quite rewarding. The work paid off and I have a 4.0 GPA for the time being. I know these were fairly easy courses and work will be more difficult as I move forward, but I am reveling in my success!
I wrote my first research paper on the Prairie School of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural design career. I had a great editor to help me and got 38 of 33 points available. I took a trip to Chicago with Neil to gain information about Frank Lloyd Wright and his design. I was able to include my own images in my paper which gave me extra credit. The overall available score for the course was 111 and with extra credit I was able to get a score of 135.6. I received a nice note from my Art professor following the course:

"Nathan,

You are the Man!! No worries Mate!! You definitely aced an A. I wish all my students were as prolific, proactive, and throw themselves into their work has you did. I have to say, out of all my ARTH classes (I taught two this semester, over 50 students) you scored the highest of all, and accumulated extra credit on top. I enjoyed your research paper, and your discussion units. Are you a research analyst as your 40/wk job? Do you write books for living? If not, you might look into this! Nathan, I truly enjoyed you as a student, and wish you all the best as you pursue more college classes, and other adventures you take on. You will do well, I can tell..." Steve Lambert

Very encouraging to hear! I am in the process of signing up for Advanced CAD as instructed by my professor, but the system they have indicates I need to take the Technical Graphics course prior. Because I am not seeking their degree for this, I am going to speak with the Chairperson of the Technical Department to see if I can waive this particular course.
I am looking forward to furthering my education and attempting to gain a position at an architectural firm as soon as I am able. Current economy has hampered that goal for the moment.