Making the Switch by Kayla Miller

I was ten years old when I decided I wanted to be an architect. My teacher at the time would give us doodle books to draw in on our spare time and while my classmates were drawing ponies and rainbows, I was drawing floor plans. When in high school, all my course selections were chosen around a post-secondary study in architecture, specifically at Carleton. The day I was accepted to the program was one of my very happiest, yet eight years of planning my life around a specific field had completely changed with the selection of two first-year art history courses.

First year of architecture was tough – there were many sleepless nights, skipped meals, and tears shed. I did well in my first year, professors were telling me about the potential and creativity I had and many other reassurances students would love to hear (which of course came with harsh criticisms as well). However, none of it seemed to mean much to me as I found myself unmotivated, sad, and disappointed based on my eight-year built up idea of what this program would do for me. The one thing that really kept me going, kept me pushing through what students labelled “architorture” was Brian Foss’ first year art history class.

I found myself turning to my art history textbook any time I needed a break from the intensity that was my studio project. Myself, my family and my friends told me that all the stress and hard-work would pay off when I finished my first year and could finally breathe – it didn’t. This new-found passion lead me to researching the details of a major in Art History at Carleton. The course options left me feeling ecstatic and excited for each year of new information on what I loved to educate both myself on as well as others.

This choice was not an easy one, I would be giving up eight years of planning, and a full year of time and money invested into this program. I spoke to many Art and Culture as well as Architecture faculty. A few months later, I got into a very serious car accident that easily could have taken my life. It was then that I realized if luck wasn’t with me that day, I would have passed unhappily. The next day I logged onto Carleton Central and switched my major from Architecture to Art History, not wanting to waste one minute of my life in a program I was not fully passionate about. I am now entering my fourth year at Carleton with a major in Art History and a minor in Archaeology. I have had plenty of experience in my field, learned a lot of information which I speak of passionately to my classmates and peers, and am still excited to learn more

I am so thankful for Carleton architecture as it has taught me exactly what I do and do not like. It has lead me down an academic path I never even considered before and I could not be happier with my current field of study. Art History at Carleton has incredible courses, outstanding professors, and on-campus, field-related job opportunities. Eight years of preparing for architecture were worth it in the long run because at the end of that road, a better one opened.

Written by Kayla Miller, 4th year Art History student