Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Dillon.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Rebecca. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have very distinct memories of being in elementary school and loving to look through my mother’s house plans magazines. I would spend hours at that young age (even during school when I should have been doing classwork) sketching out home plan ideas. I loved sketching building ideas on paper and imagining myself standing in the spaces. I knew then that I wanted to be an architect. In high school, I made sure that I focused on math and took as many classes that involved drafting and freehand drawing as possible.
I remember along the way whenever someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I told them ‘an architect’, I would often get a funny look. I wasn’t sure why until my junior year in high school and my guidance counselor commented on how it was unusual for a female to become an architect – “probably because you need strong math skills and girls typically don’t like math”. It felt a little weird to have someone tell me that (especially since I loved math – especially algebra and geometry).
But I just shrugged it off. My vision of creating buildings was just too strong to worry about whether my math skills were good enough. My senior year I did start to doubt myself as more people reinforced the notion that women just didn’t become architects. I found myself following the advice of my parents and guidance counselor to attend a two-year architectural engineering program to “make sure that I really wanted to be an architect” before committing to a five-year program.
You see, to be an architect you must attend a five-year accredited school and receive a Bachelor’s Degree in architecture. Then you must work as an intern for a minimum of three years documenting each hour that you work.
Once you have done that you must pass a nine-part exam (today it has been reworked to be a six-part exam) before you can even call yourself an architect. So becoming an architect is not for the faint of heart. It is an arduous and often times frustrating process that takes a minimum of eight – nine years. Throw on top of that being the only (or one of the few) female(s) sitting in an Introduction to Lateral Forces class and I can see why my parents and guidance counselor were weary.
I started my journey by attended Vermont Technical College where I received an outstanding education in the technical aspects of architecture. I sat in intense structural engineering classes with mostly young men and was pleased with myself when I got grades that were just as good as theirs. When I graduated with my Associates Degree in Architectural Engineering in 1992, at the height of a recession, I was very fortunate to get a job back in Maine working for an architecture firm.
After one year of drafting, running blueprints, field measuring and working with a great group of creative architects (all men), I knew that I really did want to be an architect. I also knew I had to go back to college but I loved my job. I learned more practical knowledge in the first month of being in an office and on job sites that I had in two years in college.
So I found the Boston Architectural College – its’ unique program excited me. You work full-time and go to school part-time with your professional work hours counting as part of your degree credits. In a profession where so much of your growth comes from on the job experience, this educational method seemed like the perfect avenue for me to get my architecture degree and also be several years ahead of my counterparts with a traditional college approach.
Having a college in a city like Boston that is rich with architecture, with a program that merges academia and practical work experience is a such an advantage to the architecture community in New England. For seven years I worked 40+hours a week and commuted to Boston from Portland 2 evenings a week to take my required classes. It was long and exhausting but well worth it as I graduated with my internship hours completed.
And most importantly, I still had the job that I loved in a firm that supported personal growth so much so that I was already performing the work at the level of an architect before even sitting for the exam. Intertwined with my path to licensure, I met my future husband who supported and encouraged me in every step of my career, I got married and then got pregnant with twins around the time I was planning to start taking the exam.
Having my babies slowed me down a little, I delayed taking the exam so that I could just be a mother for a bit (and get a little sleep). When they were three years old I got the courage up to study and sit for the nine tests and after three years was successful in all the necessary steps needed to call myself a Registered Architect.
I was still at the same medium-sized firm where my professional journey started because I worked for a male architect who never let a person’s gender dictate their opportunities. The size of the firm also allowed me many creative opportunities that aren’t always offered at larger firms. I knew I was fortunate to have been allowed the responsibilities that my boss had always provided for me, especially in a male-dominated profession.
In 2016, that same boss and his partner – a female interior designer – offered me a position in the firm as a principal and part owner. Architecture is a very rewarding and unique profession where engineering and art collide and knowing that only 35% of architects are female and a dismal 17% of principals in architecture firms are women are very solemn statistics. I hope to see those numbers change dramatically in my next 26 years as an architect.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been pretty smooth with a few bumps and detours along the way. I had to overcome the negativity when I was younger regarding women as architects and the perseverance that it takes to become one. I also had to take a few pauses with my career to be a mother, although I don’t see that as a bad thing.
Becoming a mother has taught me a lot about myself and I feel that by raising my daughter and son to think it is completely normal for a woman to be whatever she wants to be, to love her work and what we do outside of the home is very important. I want my daughter to know that she can accomplish professional and personal aspirations all while being a mother if she chooses.
They are not mutually exclusive things. I want my son to respect and love women for their brains, ideas and passions and most importantly support them in whatever role they choose to take in their life. Becoming a mother made me want to work harder at being the best architect I could be.
Please tell us about Gawron Turgeon Architects.
Our firm is an integrated design firm with architects, interior designers and landscape architects. We are constantly collaborating to create holistic and thoughtful projects for our clients and building occupants. Gawron Turgeon Architects is known for our senior living expertise but we also design medical offices, financial institutions, office spaces, multi-family housing and car dealerships.
Our senior living projects have won numerous awards and accolades and we pride ourselves in knowing that we are positively affecting the daily lives of people who have contributed so much to our families, society and country. It is so important that our seniors live in supportive homes and communities that promote independence and dignity.
That is how we approach every design decision in our process which is what makes our firm so successful.
What role has luck (good luck or bad luck) played in your life and business?
I think that luck has played a big role – I was lucky to get my first professional job working at a firm that values individual growth. I was lucky to have people in my life who supported my goals and dreams.
With my focus and expertise being senior living design, I have been very lucky to have the fabulous clients that we get to work with on a daily basis that shares the same mission as I do – to make homes for our seniors where they feel safe, comfortable and as independent in daily activities as possible.
Contact Info:
- Address: 29 Blackpoint Road Scarborough, Maine 04074
- Website: www.gawronturgeon.com
- Phone: 207-883-6307
- Email: rdillon@gawronturgeon.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GawronTurgeon/
Image Credit:
Siri Blanchette/ Blind Dog Photography
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