STCC grads reflect on Architecture and Building Technology 10-year anniversary

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – On April 23, 2013, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved Architecture and Building Technology as a two-year associate degree program at Springfield Technical Community College.

“That was a great day,” Professor Warren Hall said. “We were approved after a seven-year process. Creating programs is something I love to do. I like to figure it out and find out how to get people through the door.”

As of commencement in May 2023, the degree program will have over 200 graduates who come from the greater Springfield region and beyond. Students enroll in the program – the only one of its kind in Western Massachusetts – to acquire skills that prepare them for careers in architectural design and construction-related fields. Some students can start their careers after graduating from STCC. Many transfer to four-year colleges and universities.

STCC has agreements with the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and other state colleges and universities that provide for a smooth transition into a bachelor’s degree program. Starting at STCC – the only technical community college in Massachusetts – can save students thousands of dollars compared to those who enter directly into a four-year college or university.

The program drew interest from Nathalia Hermida ‘16, who was living in Colombia in 2013 and considering colleges in the United States.

“I always wanted to go for architecture,” Hermida said. “I started looking for universities with my mom. She found out about a program at UMass Amherst, but the cost was too high for us, especially coming from Colombia. So, lucky for us, we found out that STCC had a program that would transfer into UMass’s architecture program. We looked into that. As a community college, it seemed like a really good program and was more affordable for us, so we decided to go with it.”

She earned her degree from STCC in 2016 before transferring to UMass and earning a bachelor’s degree in Sustainable Community Development. Today, Hermida works at Uncommon Architectural Places, founded by Alfonso Nardi, an adjunct professor in the STCC architecture program.

All the training I received from Springfield Tech was very helpful. Having the basic knowledge about architecture actually helped me sail through the undergrad program pretty smoothly. Obed Otabil, 2018 Architecture and Building Technology graduate

In addition to professors Nardi and Hall, the program’s faculty includes Jennifer DeForge, now the program coordinator who graduated from STCC in 2009 with an associate degree in Civil Engineering Technology and is working on her second master's degree.

“Working in the ABT program has been one of the best career decisions I could have made,” DeForge said. “Every day I work with our students and fellow colleagues, who are some of the most driven individuals I have met, and I’m lucky enough to share my design and building experience with them and watch them move onto some incredible positions in the building industry and continuing their education in Architecture and Building Technology.”

Hermida plans to pursue her architecture license and a master’s degree. STCC provided a solid foundation for her continuing education, she said.

“I was really impressed about how complete the program was. They packed a lot in to two years,” she said.

The program has drawn other international students. Obed Otabil and Asra Afzaal both graduated in 2018. Otabil comes from Ghana while Afzaal grew up in Pakistan.

Otabil went to UMass to earn his bachelor’s and then master’s degree. He is taking time off to raise a child, but hopes to work at an architectural firm and have his own firm one day.

“All the training I received from Springfield Tech was very helpful,” Otabil said. “Having the basic knowledge about architecture actually helped me sail through the undergrad program pretty smoothly.”

Afzaal left Pakistan to pursue educational opportunities in the United States. She entered the U.S. educational system as an 11^th-grader in high school and then found the STCC Architecture and Building Technology program. Like Otabil, Afzaal went to UMass and received her bachelor’s degree in Building and Construction Technology.

In March 2023, she moved to Texas to work for an architecture, planning and design firm as the space planner and project planner.

Asked what role STCC played in her career, she replied, “STCC was the base, the foundation. And then on top of it, I laid the layers. … My basics were so strong that I was able to build on it and learn more and more. And I am so grateful that I was in the architecture program at STCC.”

Another graduate of the Architecture and Building Technology program, Michael Caine ‘16, eventually earned his master of architecture professional degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from UMass, Amherst.

Today, he lives in Philadelphia and works as a lead conceptual designer for an architectural firm that focuses on multi-family residential projects. He describes his conceptual work as “the dream job of architecture.”

Caine enrolled at STCC in part because the college is the most affordable in Springfield. He didn’t know what he would major in when he started, but later discovered the Architecture and Building Technology program was a good fit.

“It is really unique to have an architecture department at a community college,” he said. “Having the exposure to architecture at such an early stage in an academic career of higher ed is really beneficial. It allows that barrier of entry to really be demolished.

“It was really beneficial for me to get the exposure and the breadth of knowledge to be career ready at such an early stage. For me that was really beneficial. After my first semester at STCC, I was able to win an internship, and from there just learning both the technical side at school, but also the practical side during work while going to school, was the one-two punch.”

Caine said he is proud to call himself an STCC graduate of the 10-year-old Architecture and Building Technology Program. He recommends it to anyone interested in a career building construction or design.

“It’s a super unique program,” he said. “The way that professors Warren Hall, Jennifer DeForge and Al Nardi have shaped it over the years is really something special. When I transferred to UMass, I had all these skills they weren’t even teaching over there until later down the road.”

Interested in applying to STCC? Visit stcc.edu/apply or call Admissions at (413) 755-3333.

About Springfield Technical Community College

STCC, the Commonwealth's only technical community college, continues the pioneering legacy of the Springfield Armory with comprehensive and technical education in manufacturing, STEM, healthcare, business, social services, and the liberal arts. STCC's highly regarded workforce, certificate, degree, and transfer programs are the most affordable in Springfield and provide unequaled opportunity for the vitality of Western Massachusetts. Founded in 1967, the college – a designated Hispanic Serving Institution – seeks to close achievement gaps among students who traditionally face societal barriers. STCC supports students as they transform their lives through intellectual, cultural, and economic engagement while becoming thoughtful, committed and socially responsible graduates.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jim Danko, (413) 755-4812, jdanko@stcc.edu

• See All News