Mold-Breaking Students Encouraged During Architecture Lesson

DENVER (CBS4) – Students from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College and the Auraria campus visited MBH Architects at their downtown office Wednesday. There, they learned more about the firm and get an inside look at a career in their field.

"It has a little bit of math in it, but also the art part," said Talaysia Jackson, 17, a senior at the high school. "It makes it more realistic instead of just an idea in my head."

The students participated in an activity guessing the age of famous landmarks around the world and also got a tour of the architecture firm located inside the Wells Fargo Center, commonly known as the Cash Register Building.

They also got the chance to see presentations about the technology used by architects and ask questions to members of the MBH team.

"We are looking for what's in demand and what's needed in our community," said Brittany Matteson, manager of corporate connection for the Denver Scholarship Foundation. "It's a learning experience for everybody."

The high school and college students were focused on careers in architecture or engineering or have taken classes in related fields but expressed appreciation for an experience unlike anything they usually get in the classroom. For some, it was their first chance visiting a high rise building.

"For the students to be able to see themselves working in these careers," Matteson said.  "We want them to see themselves in a skyscraper in Denver working at an architecture firm."

Some of the students are first generation college-bound, and they benefit from encouragement about their education beyond high school. DSF Future Centers help students plan for goals like becoming an architect.

Jackson says it was an essential part of preparing her for college and her career.

"Architecture is something that you cannot only your feelings but your creativity," Jackson said. "I want to be able to work at something that is fun for me and creative and that's what architecture is to me."