Squandering away sticky summers colouring atop an old drafting table. Writing and illustrating my own made-up stories during recess. Leading my robotics team into battle at competitions and excitedly educating others about STEAM through community outreach events. Who are we if not made up of thousands of narratives such as these, each woven together to create our sense of selves and how we see the world? My name is Finley Booth and my stories are why I pursue architecture: to fuel my creative imagination and continue to share my passion for STEAM with the community surrounding me.

I am a zealous student leader whose activities help foster a creative and inclusive learning environment for all at the School of Architecture and Community Development. On behalf of the Dean, I am a Student Ambassador and represent the school at alumni and community outreach events. Additionally, I enjoyed engaging students in class material and presenting my own lectures on architecture as an art history teaching assistant this past semester. I am eager to travel to Volterra, Italy as part of the University of Detroit Mercy’s exchange program to continue my architectural studies. Colour captivates me; its energy and variety can completely transform spaces as we know them. Particularly, I am interested in learning more about the movement of colour through light and reflective materials as part of a graduate thesis, which is a study I plan to begin while in Volterra through photography. During my graduate studies, it is also my goal to become a published author through my research. In the professional world, I wish to pursue large-scale urban design projects before returning to academics as an educator. Beyond traditional pursuits, I intend to use skills gained from architecture to mentor an aforementioned FIRST robotics team. Teaching students modeling software and developing their building processes in the workshop is important to me when I become a professional.