BSLA Fieldbook BSLA 2015 Spring Fieldbook | Page 52

BSLA

/ MEMBER

BARBARA NAZAREWICZ, ASLA
FIND FUTURE COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS

I

was born and grew up in Poland. In
2004, I had just finished my sophomore
year studying engineering at the Silesian
University of Technology in Gliwice.
Although I have always enjoyed the
technical challenges of engineering, I felt
like I needed a profession that also called
for creativity and artistic design. I moved to
California where I attended Foothill
College and earned an
A.S. in Environmental
Horticulture and
Design. I loved
the program’s
construction
and skill-based
classes, building
decks, digging
trenches,
driving bobcats,
pouring concrete,
and gluing pipes.
I worked as an
irrigation technician
with a local landscape
maintenance company, and
installed ET-based computer irrigation
systems for Apple and Hewlett-Packard
campuses. Then, for three years, I worked
as a landscape maintenance manager on a
golf course in San Jose, CA. This practical
experience was incredibly valuable when
I transferred to UC Davis to pursue a B.S.
in Landscape Architecture. Among many
reasons, I became drawn to the field because
of its consideration and care for the human
experience within the built environment. I
found a profession that called upon all my
interests and skills.

Started Out
Education
Now

50

BSLA

In 2009, I joined the student chapter of
ASLA at UC Davis. The following year,
I was selected as the National Student
Representative to the ASLA Board of
Trustees. On my first visit to Washington,
DC, through board meetings and visits to
Senate offices, I realized that the continued
presence of ASLA on Capitol Hill is essential
to our profession. I am very appreciative for
the ASLA members who spend untold hours
to advocate on my behalf.

I r e a l i ze d t h a t t h e
c o nt i nue d p r e s e nc e
o f A S LA o n Ca p i t ol
Hi l l i s e s s e nt i a l t o o u r
p ro f e s s i o n.
I moved to Boston in late 2011. Had it not
been for my strong professional network
through my experience with ASLA, I would
have had much greater difficulty finding a
job. Through BSLA, I was soon connected to
several extremely helpful professionals in
Boston, and have been happily working here
ever since.
Both ASLA and BSLA professional networks
have been important elements in the
development of my career and I encourage
all landscape architects to reach deeply into
the organization, find future colleagues and
friends, and make the most of their career.

Gliwice, Poland
University of California, Davis
SiteCreative Landscape Architecture