Hi, I'm Brendan

When I was 18 years old, I focused most of my energy in pursuing adventure; I spent my time planning hikes, exploring the state and longing to travel to countries abroad. However, after six years as a rescue swimmer in the United States Navy, I experienced obstacles and witnessed a diverse array of cultures that shaped my disciplined focus to pursue a future in the built environment at the University of Washington. While I may have always been intellectually curious, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as a career. After failing to be accepted to any universities of interest out of high school, I enrolled at Bellevue College for two years. As all of my friends went off to universities and I stayed behind, I found it difficult navigating what exactly it was I wanted to do for a career. I eventually became interested in dental, as it was pitched to me by a family friend and mentor as a career in which you get to pursue both biological healthcare and artistic creativity. This genuinely interested me, for I grew up loving the natural world and the sciences, as well as expressing myself through art. However, despite being involved in the Doctors and Dents club on campus, and pursuing a hands-on internship in dentistry over the summer, I had a rumbling in my core that urged me to chase an alternative path. After wrestling with different ideas on what to do next, I concluded that I wasn’t ready to continue with six more years of school, no matter how far I had already come. I ultimately found myself in the recruiter’s office for the United States Navy. While in the Navy I became an aviation rescue swimmer, deployed three times, visited nine countries, and gain countless life experiences and life long friends. It was the experiences in the Navy that lead me to the built environment. When traveling to different countries and seeing how other cultures have developed their cities and the relationship it has to the environment. I was inspired to find how the natural environment in the city could be implemented in the future cities and building design in the United States. Ultimately, I found my way back to the University of Washington to attend school in the College of Built Environments.

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          I then pursued the Community, Environment and Planning major at the University of Washington because my passion is in built environment. Between the self-research I have done, and the events, meetings and groups I have joined within the built environment such as the U.S. green building council – San Diego chapter, Cascadia collaborative and the UW solar club – to name a few, it has become apparent to me that the built environment is highly collaborative. With CEP offering flexibility by allowing students to select classes that are going to align with their goals, I am afforded the opportunity to pursue all aspects of the built environment’s collaborators. My individual study plan focuses on the importance of this collaboration and therefore includes classes from both the undergraduate and graduate level in: architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, construction management and real estate. This gave me a well-rounded ability and portfolio, giving me a better understanding of everything that goes into the built environment, instead of a singularly focused undergraduate degree. Ultimately has made me more marketable across a swath of different fields in the built environment. My long-term goal is to help pioneer the change of how buildings and communities are designed by being more sustainable: socially, economically and environmentally.

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            A degree in Community, Environment and Planning at UW focused on the different disciplines of the built environment, has helped me continue towards that path. I also found that after being relocated by the military to Southern California and getting involved in groups in San Diego, that it is vital I begin growing a network in the Seattle area through community events. I plan to continue to be involved in the programs inside and outside of the University after graduation. Inside of the University I plan to continue my involvement in the UW Solar Club. Outside of the university, I will continue to stay involved in the Cascadia collaborative, U.S. green building council and staying active in local built environment meetings and groups. All while remaining diligent in the pursuit of other opportunities inside and outside of the university. I am confident that through my involvement and pursuit of an education in the field, I will be able to reach my goal of being a key contributor to the built environment. Overall with the experiences I acquired in the Navy, coupled with my education inside and outside of the classroom, I am excited for my future and the opportunity to make a positive impact on the built environment.