Growing up in Dallas, North Carolina, as part of a family of cabinetmakers and woodworkers, Joshua Putnam remembers being told, \u201cIf you learn a trade, you\u2019ll never get rich, but you\u2019ll never go hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n
The advice stuck with him. Although becoming an architect had been a goal of his since childhood, Putnam first learned the furniture-making trade, working in California and then Nevada.<\/p>\n
For several years, he traveled and honed his craft, while saving enough money to put himself through college. Long aware of NC State University\u2019s reputation and the prestige of the College of Design\u2019<\/a>s architecture program, he made the choice to return to his home state.<\/p>\n In addition to providing a means of supporting himself, Putnam\u2019s background in woodworking has proven a helpful foundation for his studies at the College of Design.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one of the best things I could have done to enhance my architecture education,\u201d he said. \u201cNow I have this fundamental knowledge and design skill set, and they help each other \u2013 my woodworking is better because of my design knowledge and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n When Putnam speaks about the relationship between furniture making and design, his passion shines through. \u201cA lot of the architects we study have some sort of affiliation with furniture. It\u2019s in our blood,\u201d he said. \u201cI did not know that until I came to school here. I\u2019m not going to compare myself, but it\u2019s nice to know my mentality works.\u201d<\/p>\n However, last summer, Putnam\u2019s plans were nearly derailed. He found that it didn\u2019t make financial sense for him to return to school for the college\u2019s fifth-year professional bachelor of architecture program. The B.Arch.. degree is a prerequisite for qualifying for the Architect Registration Examination (ARE).<\/p>\n \u201cI was going to work for a year or two and then come back,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you work, and you have responsibilities and bills and debt. That\u2019s just how the world works, and it\u2019s really easy to get used to that. My concern was that I would leave and I would never finish the professional architecture degree.\u201d<\/p>\n After sharing his situation with David Hill, AIA, professor and head of the architecture department, Putnam received transformative news. The College of Design offered him the Eduardo J. Catalano Scholarship, named for the renowned former chair of the Department of Architecture and established by Catalano\u2019s two children<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a blessing, to be honest with you. I feel like \u2018life-changing\u2019 is a bit of a typical response, but it\u2019s true. It is so true,\u201d Putnam said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The impact of a scholarship can extend past the recipient, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my case, I\u2019m the first person in my family to go to college,\u201d Putnam said. \u201cThat, in turn, sets an example. I have a 14-year-old brother. [The scholarship] says it can be done, regardless of the financial status of your parents or yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n The Catalano Scholarship has alleviated some of the pressure of a rigorous program, allowing Putnam to focus on academics and putting in the necessary studio hours to produce an exceptional thesis.<\/p>\n After five years of studying with a faculty he describes as world-class and committed to each individual student, he is confident about what his future will bring.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing a multitude of perspectives and people\u2019s responses to different things through my time here has really made me grow as a person. Architecture is so specific, and with the skill set that they teach us here, we\u2019re ready to hit the ground running,\u201d Putnam said.<\/p>\n After graduation, Putnam plans to continue working at the local architecture firm where he is currently employed. \u201cIt\u2019s a small firm and I\u2019m delegated a lot of responsibilities,\u201d he said, calling the experience a \u201cfast track to licensure.\u201d<\/p>\n Eventually, he would like to get involved in civic and cultural architecture. Securing such projects is highly competitive, but the reputation of NC State architects ensures that their work merits serious consideration.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been a dream I\u2019ve had since my very early childhood,\u201d Putnam said. \u201cNow it\u2019s starting to become a reality.\u201d<\/p>\n This post was originally published<\/a> in Giving News.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false,"raw":"Growing up in Dallas, North Carolina, as part of a family of cabinetmakers and woodworkers, Joshua Putnam remembers being told, \u201cIf you learn a trade, you\u2019ll never get rich, but you\u2019ll never go hungry.\u201d\n\nThe advice stuck with him. Although becoming an architect had been a goal of his since childhood, Putnam first learned the furniture-making trade, working in California and then Nevada.\n\nFor several years, he traveled and honed his craft, while saving enough money to put himself through college. Long aware of NC State University\u2019s reputation and the prestige of the College of Design\u2019<\/a>s architecture program, he made the choice to return to his home state.\n\nIn addition to providing a means of supporting himself, Putnam\u2019s background in woodworking has proven a helpful foundation for his studies at the College of Design.\n\n\u201cIt was one of the best things I could have done to enhance my architecture education,\u201d he said. \u201cNow I have this fundamental knowledge and design skill set, and they help each other \u2013 my woodworking is better because of my design knowledge and vice versa.\u201d\n\nWhen Putnam speaks about the relationship between furniture making and design, his passion shines through. \u201cA lot of the architects we study have some sort of affiliation with furniture. It\u2019s in our blood,\u201d he said. \u201cI did not know that until I came to school here. I\u2019m not going to compare myself, but it\u2019s nice to know my mentality works.\u201d\n\nHowever, last summer, Putnam\u2019s plans were nearly derailed. He found that it didn\u2019t make financial sense for him to return to school for the college\u2019s fifth-year professional bachelor of architecture program. The B.Arch.. degree is a prerequisite for qualifying for the Architect Registration Examination (ARE).\n\n\u201cI was going to work for a year or two and then come back,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you work, and you have responsibilities and bills and debt. That\u2019s just how the world works, and it\u2019s really easy to get used to that. My concern was that I would leave and I would never finish the professional architecture degree.\u201d\n\nAfter sharing his situation with David Hill, AIA, professor and head of the architecture department, Putnam received transformative news. The College of Design offered him the Eduardo J. Catalano Scholarship, named for the renowned former chair of the Department of Architecture and established by Catalano\u2019s two children<\/a>.\n\n\u201cIt was a blessing, to be honest with you. I feel like \u2018life-changing\u2019 is a bit of a typical response, but it\u2019s true. It is so true,\u201d Putnam said.\n\n\n\nThe impact of a scholarship can extend past the recipient, he added.\n\n\u201cIn my case, I\u2019m the first person in my family to go to college,\u201d Putnam said. \u201cThat, in turn, sets an example. I have a 14-year-old brother. [The scholarship] says it can be done, regardless of the financial status of your parents or yourself.\u201d\n\nThe Catalano Scholarship has alleviated some of the pressure of a rigorous program, allowing Putnam to focus on academics and putting in the necessary studio hours to produce an exceptional thesis.\n\nAfter five years of studying with a faculty he describes as world-class and committed to each individual student, he is confident about what his future will bring.\n\n\u201cSeeing a multitude of perspectives and people\u2019s responses to different things through my time here has really made me grow as a person. Architecture is so specific, and with the skill set that they teach us here, we\u2019re ready to hit the ground running,\u201d Putnam said.\n\nAfter graduation, Putnam plans to continue working at the local architecture firm where he is currently employed. \u201cIt\u2019s a small firm and I\u2019m delegated a lot of responsibilities,\u201d he said, calling the experience a \u201cfast track to licensure.\u201d\n\nEventually, he would like to get involved in civic and cultural architecture. Securing such projects is highly competitive, but the reputation of NC State architects ensures that their work merits serious consideration.\n\n\u201cThis has been a dream I\u2019ve had since my very early childhood,\u201d Putnam said. \u201cNow it\u2019s starting to become a reality.\u201d"},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With support from NC State\u2019s Eduardo J. Catalano Scholarship, Joshua Putnam builds on a furniture-making foundation to achieve his longtime dream of becoming an architect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":12688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"ncstate_wire","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[19,13],"class_list":["post-12676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-giving","category-uncategorized","tag-_featured","tag-architecture"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/architecture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}