Maria Flores
Adjunct Professor

My understanding of design started when I was 6 years old. My father owned and directed an architecture and furniture studio in Caracas, Venezuela, where I would sit and watch as he drew his ideas on paper. At such a young age, I would try and replicate his drawings, thinking up my own designs while going with him to meet clients. By watching him direct his own company every day after school, I learned about the true definition of hard work, professional ethics, and the meaning of doing something with passion.

When I moved to the United States at 13 years old, my parents were figuring out which school I would attend. The first thing my mother thought of was placing me in a private school but reasonably, it was based on connections, payments, and interviews. Still, I gave it a shot and walked into the school with my sketchbook in hand. I had just spent all summer perfecting my drawing skills, drawing one-point perspectives and axonometric of spaces. Thirty minutes later I had gotten a spot in the school as well as made the record for the first freshman to take all Advanced Placement Art classes while also getting a job as Cartoonist in the school's newspaper. The team would tell me what new story they had in mind, and I would draw their ideas so they could visualize them better and share them with the school. During this period of my life, I learned how to persevere and push for the things you believe in. This is when I knew I was going to do something creative in my life, and I looked at architecture as the closest thing to achieve my dream.

A lot has changed over the years, but one thing certainly has not; instead of drawing made-up objects from my mind, I became a designer and architect to help people, companies, and organizations achieve the impossible: capture their thoughts and convert them into reality via viable solutions of functionality, appealing aesthetics, and cost-effectiveness. I design, manage, and produce ways for individuals to visualize, build, and stand in the spaces they want to live, work, and play in, while also teaching students and individuals how to understand design and apply their knowledge to succeed.