The Vine
On 14 March, COX had the privilege of attending Series 02 of “The Vine” a speed mentoring initiative designed for students and graduates of the built environment, an opportunity to build resilience, create a rapport amongst peers and mentors all within a friendly forum. Hosted by Hassell in their Sydney studio, our COX mentors and graduates exchanged insights, challenges, and provided tips on how to navigate the world of work following graduation and beyond.
We sat down with our COX mentors to gain their insights and experiences from the session and why events like these are so important:
COX Director, Alex Small
I was very impressed with all the talented and articulate mentees who came with so many varied and challenging questions. The discussions certainly made me, as someone with many years in the industry, think hard about how to respond, considering their different life experiences and the potentially different styles of architectural career on which they are embarking.
Being a mentor is a learning exercise too!
COX Associate, Lydia Vegas
As a COX Mentor for the second time, it has been a privilege connecting once again with young professionals. When I started in my career, an initiative like this would have been so valuable. Experiencing something like this now as an experienced architect is both beneficial and rewarding. Hearing from overseas students and graduates, understanding the challenges and fears they face starting their career in Australia, I found to be fulfilling. I could certainly relate as I was once in their shoes, having moved to Australia in 2015. I never thought my path could be of help to others!
Architect, Karin Ke
It was enriching to be a part of these two-way dialogues that revealed a breadth of personal passions, sharing of stories and interests at different stages of the career journey from both mentor and mentee’s point of view. As much as one’s personal career involves industry wide collective experiences woven with shared perspectives, it is also an incredibly unique and personal journey. In all cases, the learning experience is never ending and invaluable.
Graduate Designer, Jessica Cho
As a graduate myself, it was refreshing to hear from students and recent graduates, as I was able to relate to and advise on the same challenges, obstacles and doubts that I experienced not so long ago. Topics of discussion included, career development opportunities, cultural diversity, gender and cultural equity, which remain reoccurring challenges. This event was a good reminder to continue raising awareness on these important topics for the architecture and design industry.
Graduate Designer, Theresa Tian
I was very glad to have had the opportunity to attend and experience this event for the first time in my career. I felt very connected to the topics and questions raised, having been recently through it myself. As I continue to learn, the conversations allowed me to personally reflect, to share and exchange my thoughts. The Vine is such a good platform for everyone to chat about things we don’t feel comfortable openly discussing. Having a safe space to chat amongst our peers is so important.