Welcome to the mentorDINO YouTube Interview Series, your go-to destination for in-depth conversations with professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, construction, and adjacent fields. I’m your host Katelyn Rossier, and I’m on a mission to uncover the fascinating stories, insights, and expertise of individuals who have shaped the built environment.
In each episode, we delve into the unique career journeys of our guests, exploring their educational backgrounds, professional experiences, specializing, and what they do. Whether you’re a budding Architect, an aspiring Engineer, or a construction enthusiast, you’ll find valuable advice, inspiration, and a deeper understanding of these professions.
If you’re new here, consider subscribing to our YouTube channel and hitting that notification bell so you never miss an interview with our incredible guests. And for our blog readers, we’ll also provide a mini-transcript below the video to make it easier to follow along. Now, let’s jump right into today’s conversation and get ready to be inspired by the remarkable individuals who have made their mark in architecture, engineering, and construction.
Katelyn
Welcome, everybody. I would like to welcome Kayla Barko. That’s joining me today. She is a project architect at Ashley McGraw Architects. So thank you, Kayla, for taking the time to speak with me today. Yeah, and I know we’ve known each other for many years. But if you don’t mind more introducing yourself to my bigger audience and how you got to Ashley McGraw.
Kayla Barko
Yeah, absolutely. I’m happy to be here.
Kayla Barko
Yeah, so I originally went to school at Kent State in Ohio, same college as Caitlin. I did my undergraduate and master’s degree there and after graduation I headed to Pittsburgh. So I got a job at a small firm in Pittsburgh and I got to work on a whole different types of projects. So between commercial, higher education, K through 12 education. Even things like water treatment plants. So I really got a diverse set of experience on different project types. And I worked at that firm for about four years and then I ended up working on Ashley McGraw Architects, which is based out of Syracuse, New York.
Katelyn
And I know that transition, because at Hayes, you were, you know, the traditional, we were in the office full-time pre-COVID. You go in every single day of the week. And I believe Hayes, most of their projects are all local, if I remember correctly.
Kayla Barko
Yes, they are. Everything they do is in Pittsburgh.
Katelyn
Yeah, and you’re still in Pittsburgh and Ashley McGraw is up in Syracuse. So you are a fully remote employee. How how did that transition happen for you? Like, how did you decide you wanted to go and be 100 percent remote? How did you decide in Syracuse and looking at that area to find that firm? Like when you go fully hybrid, you really have the selection of the whole country. So where did you even start when looking to transition?
Kayla Barko
Yeah, so I think the transition came on as a result of the COVID pandemic and working remotely from home. So when I was working for the firm in Pittsburgh, Hayes Design Group, during COVID, we shifted entirely to being remote. And we were all working from home for about 16 months. So after we deemed it was safe to go back into the office, our firm had everyone come back in five days a week.
And I was in the office probably about six months after that. And I started to realize that maybe the office wasn’t the best environment for me. And I noticed some things about myself and how I like to work professionally. So I started realizing that maybe the office environment wasn’t the best place for me to work with an open office plan and people constantly moving around and talking and coming up to me.
I found myself distracted and unproductive and I was finding it really hard to focus on tasks versus when I was working at home. I would, you know, go into a small conference room or something like that when I really needed to focus on something, but I knew that was only really a temporary solution for that office environment. So at that point I started looking for options that would possibly be hybrid or maybe even bigger type of firm that would have multiple office locations. I wasn’t necessarily sure that I want to stay in Pittsburgh forever, and I’m still not sure I want to stay in Pittsburgh forever.
0:00 Introduction
1:41 Transition to fully remote Architect
5:13 Adjusting
6:55 Firm Culture
8:25 How Kayla found the firm
9:15 Recent graduate advice
13:00 What is it like to work on K-12 Projects
18:00 Local organizations while fully remote
Written by
Katelyn Rossier, AIA, NCARB, LSSBB
