{"id":15498,"date":"2018-12-05T07:17:21","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T12:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/?p=15498"},"modified":"2022-05-23T14:51:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T18:51:33","slug":"from-airforce-veteran-to-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/blog\/2018\/12\/05\/from-airforce-veteran-to-architecture\/","title":{"rendered":"From Air Force to Architecture: Veteran Sees Opportunities in Design"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dustin<\/a><\/p>\n

Dustin Sicard, a veteran and track 3 architecture graduate student<\/a> in his final year at NC State, was recently honored alongside other NC State veterans and current military members at the annual military appreciation football game. Sicard is part of a small group of veterans enrolled in the College of Design.<\/p>\n

Sicard and I met for the first time on a cold, rainy November day. As we talked over how he came to be at the College, Sicard\u2019s service dog, Gizmo slept at our feet. \u201cShe seems pretty chill,\u201d I say. \u201cYeah,\u201d Sicard says, \u201ceverywhere we go, she has a calming effect\u2026 she brings a lot of happiness to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sicard tells me that he joined the Air Force after speaking with a family friend who was an active member of the Army National Guard. He also visited recruiters and considered everything he wanted to do in the next stage of his life. \u201cI wanted to have fun, I wanted to travel, and I wanted to get paid to do it. And there\u2019s the patriot part of it\u2014you\u2019re doing a civic duty.\u201d The Air Force, as opposed to other branches of the military, checked all the boxes for Sicard. He says the moment felt like \u201cdoors of opportunity were being open,\u201d which is something he continues to look for today.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though there\u2019s a lot of ups and downs in the military, I\u2019m so thankful that I did it. It\u2019s brought me so many good things. And heartaches too sometimes, but that\u2019s ok.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While in the military, Sicard worked primarily in the medical field. He served as an aeromedical flight medic in Iraq and also worked in the largest military hospital since the Vietnam War. \u201cEven though there\u2019s a lot of ups and downs in the military, I\u2019m so thankful that I did it. It\u2019s brought me so many good things. And heartaches too sometimes, but that\u2019s ok.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gizmo
Service dog Gizmo with Veteran Dustin Sicard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHow do you handle that?\u201d I ask. \u201cYou just, you have to evolve,\u201d Sicard says. But he also says, \u201cwhen I look back, I can name names of people in Iraq and throughout my service in the military who were like \u2018come here, this is my wing, you\u2019re going to stay here.\u2019 And then you walk away and you know that\u2019s the way to be and that\u2019s what you need to do for somebody else along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

After 15 years in the military, Sicard was considering physician assistant school. Realizing that he enjoyed the preventative side of medicine but was frustrated with other aspects of it, he began working with a life and wellness coach. Sicard took personality and strength tests and saw that \u201ceverything lined up in architecture but not in medicine.\u201d Because of the time commitment necessary in the military and in graduate school, Sicard knew that he couldn\u2019t do both simultaneously. \u201cI knew coming into architecture that I was going to get out of the military… I just wanted to give all my attention to architecture.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a bachelor\u2019s degree in sociology and a medical military career, Sicard did not have an art background to pull from for his application portfolio. So, before even applying to NC State, Sicard moved to North Carolina and took art classes at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Cape Fear Community College. While there, he pushed the boundaries of sculpture\u2014\u201cOne of the things I did was build my own furnace. I cast aluminum through wood, and I explored how that worked. And nobody was really doing much of that kind of sculpting, and it\u2019s not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

…Now I have the opportunity to influence the spaces and places people occupy in a positive, healthy way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although it seemed like an abrupt change from medicine to architecture, it really wasn\u2019t that big of a leap. In many ways, Sicard says he is continuing his core value of helping people live better lives. In the military, he says, \u201cpeople\u2019s lives were in my hands, directly in my hands,\u201d and with architecture, \u201cthey\u2019re still in my hands\u2026 if I don\u2019t make sure the structure is right or do the things I\u2019m supposed to do, people could die. Now I have the opportunity to influence the spaces and places people occupy in a positive, healthy way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The architecture program is demanding\u2014\u201cHere they push you. You know, and I like that,\u201d Sicard says, but he\u2019s looking forward to the semester break to reflect and consider his next move and his long-term future. What is clear from our discussion, though, is that Sicard sees architecture as a tool to improve lives, and he wants his work to exemplify this philosophy. \u201cI\u2019m interested in residential. I\u2019m interested in commercial as well. I don\u2019t want to just do one thing necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n

The career flexibility is part of what attracted Sicard to architecture. \u201cIn architecture, there are many doors of opportunity. I don\u2019t have to go and be an architect directly, I could go and be a shoe designer\u2026 I could end up working for Boeing or BMW as a designer. What matters when you\u2019re going through this program is learning how to be creative, how to design, and how to think about design. And I love it. I love that it\u2019s about space and place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Staci Kleinmaier is a professional writer and photographer in Apex, North Carolina. She uses words and images to tell stories.\u00a0To see her work, visit\u00a0www.stacikleinmaier.com<\/a><\/u>.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\"Dustin<\/a>\n\nDustin Sicard, a veteran and track 3 architecture graduate student<\/a> in his final year at NC State, was recently honored alongside other NC State veterans and current military members at the annual military appreciation football game. Sicard is part of a small group of veterans enrolled in the College of Design.\n\nSicard and I met for the first time on a cold, rainy November day. As we talked over how he came to be at the College, Sicard\u2019s service dog, Gizmo slept at our feet. \u201cShe seems pretty chill,\u201d I say. \u201cYeah,\u201d Sicard says, \u201ceverywhere we go, she has a calming effect\u2026 she brings a lot of happiness to people.\u201d\n\nSicard tells me that he joined the Air Force after speaking with a family friend who was an active member of the Army National Guard. He also visited recruiters and considered everything he wanted to do in the next stage of his life. \u201cI wanted to have fun, I wanted to travel, and I wanted to get paid to do it. And there\u2019s the patriot part of it\u2014you\u2019re doing a civic duty.\u201d The Air Force, as opposed to other branches of the military, checked all the boxes for Sicard. He says the moment felt like \u201cdoors of opportunity were being open,\u201d which is something he continues to look for today.\n

\u201cEven though there\u2019s a lot of ups and downs in the military, I\u2019m so thankful that I did it. It\u2019s brought me so many good things. And heartaches too sometimes, but that\u2019s ok.\u201d<\/blockquote>\nWhile in the military, Sicard worked primarily in the medical field. He served as an aeromedical flight medic in Iraq and also worked in the largest military hospital since the Vietnam War. \u201cEven though there\u2019s a lot of ups and downs in the military, I\u2019m so thankful that I did it. It\u2019s brought me so many good things. And heartaches too sometimes, but that\u2019s ok.\u201d\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_15503\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"400\"]\"Gizmo Service dog Gizmo with Veteran Dustin Sicard.[\/caption]\n\n\u201cHow do you handle that?\u201d I ask. \u201cYou just, you have to evolve,\u201d Sicard says. But he also says, \u201cwhen I look back, I can name names of people in Iraq and throughout my service in the military who were like \u2018come here, this is my wing, you\u2019re going to stay here.\u2019 And then you walk away and you know that\u2019s the way to be and that\u2019s what you need to do for somebody else along the way.\u201d\n\nAfter 15 years in the military, Sicard was considering physician assistant school. Realizing that he enjoyed the preventative side of medicine but was frustrated with other aspects of it, he began working with a life and wellness coach. Sicard took personality and strength tests and saw that \u201ceverything lined up in architecture but not in medicine.\u201d Because of the time commitment necessary in the military and in graduate school, Sicard knew that he couldn\u2019t do both simultaneously. \u201cI knew coming into architecture that I was going to get out of the military... I just wanted to give all my attention to architecture.\u201d\n\nWith a bachelor\u2019s degree in sociology and a medical military career, Sicard did not have an art background to pull from for his application portfolio. So, before even applying to NC State, Sicard moved to North Carolina and took art classes at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Cape Fear Community College. While there, he pushed the boundaries of sculpture\u2014\u201cOne of the things I did was build my own furnace. I cast aluminum through wood, and I explored how that worked. And nobody was really doing much of that kind of sculpting, and it\u2019s not easy.\u201d\n
...Now I have the opportunity to influence the spaces and places people occupy in a positive, healthy way.\u201d<\/blockquote>\nAlthough it seemed like an abrupt change from medicine to architecture, it really wasn\u2019t that big of a leap. In many ways, Sicard says he is continuing his core value of helping people live better lives. In the military, he says, \u201cpeople\u2019s lives were in my hands, directly in my hands,\u201d and with architecture, \u201cthey\u2019re still in my hands\u2026 if I don\u2019t make sure the structure is right or do the things I\u2019m supposed to do, people could die. Now I have the opportunity to influence the spaces and places people occupy in a positive, healthy way.\u201d\n\nThe architecture program is demanding\u2014\u201cHere they push you. You know, and I like that,\u201d Sicard says, but he\u2019s looking forward to the semester break to reflect and consider his next move and his long-term future. What is clear from our discussion, though, is that Sicard sees architecture as a tool to improve lives, and he wants his work to exemplify this philosophy. \u201cI\u2019m interested in residential. I\u2019m interested in commercial as well. I don\u2019t want to just do one thing necessarily.\u201d\n\nThe career flexibility is part of what attracted Sicard to architecture. \u201cIn architecture, there are many doors of opportunity. I don\u2019t have to go and be an architect directly, I could go and be a shoe designer\u2026 I could end up working for Boeing or BMW as a designer. What matters when you\u2019re going through this program is learning how to be creative, how to design, and how to think about design. And I love it. I love that it\u2019s about space and place.\u201d\n\n
\n\nStaci Kleinmaier is a professional writer and photographer in Apex, North Carolina. She uses words and images to tell stories.\u00a0To see her work, visit\u00a0www.stacikleinmaier.com<\/a><\/u>.\u00a0<\/em><\/span>\n\n "},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dustin Sicard, who is an Airforce Veteran and graduate architecture student shares his design journey, from his experience in Iraq to his plan to influence the spaces and places people occupy in a positive, healthy way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","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":[54,49],"tags":[51],"class_list":["post-15498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-external-recognition","category-newswire","tag-architecture"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15498"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30238,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15498\/revisions\/30238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}