My passion for green buildings originates from when I was a kid accompanying my father to tour warehouses. He is a commercial real estate broker, and he would always ask if I wanted to come with him on the weekends to check out warehouses he was representing. I always looked forward to it because I normally got to ride my bike around and my Dad would ask me what I thought of the opinion. I felt like his little assistant. I often would critique that it didnt seem environmentally friendly, as I saw all the bulldozed trees they took down to clear the land.

On the ride home I would sit in the back seat and redesign the building. Before I knew what sustainability was or carbon crediting was, I was giving him ideas on how to make up for the trees lost from clearing the land. This would include solar panels, windmills on the side of the building, and even a rooftop garden.

Although I was not an architect, I still had a passion for green building. My undergraduate courses covered the basics, but I wanted to learn more.

Ultimately, senior year at UGA, I begged the landscape architecture school to let me take their LEED Green Associate course. Even thought this would make my last semester 17 credits, I had to feed my passion, and did not mind the extra work.

I passed my LEED GA exam May 6th 2023… but that was not enough. I wanted to learn more. I was advised by one of my father’s colleagues to look into the WELL Building certificate. After graduation, I spent the next two weeks studying and passed on May 31st, 2023.

After obtaining these two certifications, I decided to attend the GreenBuild 2023 Conference in DC on September 26-29th. I enjoyed every second of it.

Needless to say I did all of this on my own time, expense, and interest. I am extremely self motivated and determined when I am passionate.