LA.IDEA Inspires: Bethesda Chevy Chase High School II

LA.IDEA’s Inspire program continued developing its partnership with Bethesda Chevy Chase High School during the first quarter of the year. After a successful first session with Pam Marquez, sociologist specializing in international immigration, we were joined by a local architectural leader to provide her insights to the students.

On April 11th, 2019, Lorena Checa, from Checa Architects, participated in the program and talked about her journey as an immigrant in the United States and career path as a woman in architecture. Her chat started by sharing about her arrival to the United States at the age of 16 from Perú, and then moving on to her struggles as a woman studying architecture at a time when there were less than 5% female students pursing a professional architectural degree. She then moved on to her experience working professionally in an architecture firm and finally concluding with the day she fulfilled her dreams –to open her own studio.

The students were very attentive and had many questions and curiosities towards the end of the presentation. Teachers and parents were very appreciative to Ms. Checa for sharing her insights with the students and for potentially opening their eyes to the world of opportunities that comes from hard work and resilience.

Special thanks to Lorena Checa for participating in LA.IDEA’s Inspire program and to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School for the opportunity to provide this service. If you are interested in inspiring our local youth, reach out to us at contact@laideadc.com for more information.