This AWA+D Member Spotlight comes from a conversation between Professional + Premiere member Ethel Rubio, a longtime member and former president of AWA+D, and Kyra Bauman, the AWA+D Membership Director for 2021-2022.
Kyra Bauman: Ethel, you seem like such an interesting and busy person! I’m excited to have the opportunity to talk to you in this capacity about your career and how you began your involvement with AWA+D.
Ethel Rubio: Thank you so much for having me - where do I begin? I started when I was a student at USC. I was looking for something that was more than being in school and was looking for female mentors. When I saw there was a conference of women in architecture happening in San Diego at that time, I jumped on it. When I went to the conference, I was so excited to see a room full of women architects! It was the early 90s, I think I was in junior year, and I was so fascinated and inspired by the whole experience. I got involved because I noticed that students were not represented, so I became the person who stepped in and got involved and got my peers to join. As a student, I became active in AWA’s committees, and a couple of years after I graduated, I became the president, because I was full of energy! I had an amazing mentor, Seraphima Lamb (Bennett now), who was the first Asian woman architect to become president of AWA. She took me under her wing to be her President-Elect. Even before AWA, I’ve been involved in women’s advocacy, for many years. Now I’m still doing it! I’ve done so much in the past that ties into what I do now, and my daughter is also into women’s advocacy and social justice; it has come full circle.
KB: I love that you saw a need and jumped in to address it. I think this really gets to the spirit of AWA+D; when you want to do something, you can join and make it happen. Do you have any advice for current students or people starting out their careers and looking at AWA+D?
ER: I totally believe that engaging outside the four walls of your studio is important, and definitely believe in starting early in your undergrad career or grad program. You have to get involved. You can’t just draw and take classes; you have to get involved with your community. I think getting involved, particularly for women students, and especially with AWA+D, is really important because they see successful women who are going through the careers that they can aspire to be like, and also see people who are doing other things, not just traditional architecture. I think that makes it really inspiring and very diverse for younger members to see what’s out there.
KB: So you trained in architecture and still work in that field?
ER: I started college as a nursing student, but I switched because I did not like the sight of blood and was more interested in architecture. I got my degree in architecture at USC, but before that, I had started a five-year program in the Philippines. I was finishing my junior year at the University of the Philippines when my parents decided for me to finish my architecture degree here in the US. I did five years at USC because of the “Ten Semesters of Design” requirement, but I was actually at a junior level when I came to USC because I finished all of my general education and electives in the Philippines, so I had time to work and was lucky to find a job with an architecture firm very early on. Working while in school was GREAT- it was my part-time job, but I was learning and making connections. Because this was a corporate A/E firm, the world I got involved in exposed me to bigger projects and to the business development end of it, helping with marketing and proposals and working on big projects. By the time I graduated, it was a recession, so having been able to work in an architecture firm and being active in AIA/LA in addition to AWA gave me a step up. Even though it was a recession I had two job offers! All in all, my whole traditional architecture career spanned about 10 years including my internship, but I wanted to do something more.For me, working in a cubicle and drawing wasn’t enough. I was Asian and a woman, so they were putting me on teams to go out and pitch projects and proposals. I loved that environment and there was not really an opportunity to grow in that direction, so I decided to do something different. Spinning off into marketing and development brought me to different kinds of career opportunities - nonprofits, global organizations - you name it, I’ve done it.I lost my passion in working in traditional architecture. I still love architecture and think the education I got from my foundation years has helped me be successful in what I do: envisioning and thinking ahead, visualization, trying to see what’s going to happen at the end when you're still planning, and collaboration – all a very big plus of the architecture education. All the soft skills I learned from it I have been able to apply in what I’ve done over the years and have been successful. I started my own consulting firm in 2017. I did not set out on a particular path, it’s just Ethel G. Rubio, Associate AIA because I have a gamut of experience that I can help with, so whatever opportunity comes my way, I pursue it. Primarily, I do project/construction management, and strategic engagement and development. That’s what I do right now.
KB: It sounds like you interface with a lot of people who are AWA members professionally, even though you’re not on the traditional architecture career path anymore.
ER: It’s interesting - in AWA, once you make friends, you’re friends for life. This was before Facebook, before the internet, or emails; there was letter writing and Christmas cards. I’ve known these women since I was a student at USC and they’re still my friends and colleagues, it’s nice to be connected this way. It helps keep you grounded in everything you do because you're not just talking about the profession, you’re talking about life, and impacting the world, how you are making a difference. You don’t get in there to just talk about architecture with them. It’s about having connections and having a life altogether.
KB: It sounds like your outlook has rubbed off on your daughter. What is she planning to do with her career?
ER: She graduated from Stanford University with an engineering/product design degree last year, and finished this year with a Masters of Arts in Sustainability Science and Practice. She’s all about design, and social justice is a big part of her too. Sustainability is a big thing for me too. I did not tell her “go to this!” or “do this!”. I guess she sees what her mom does and created her own path, but I’m glad that she is where she is now. She does want to do design-type work that’s related to health/sustainability. I don’t know how she’s going to pursue that, but I don't have to worry about her because she’s self-motivated like me!
KB: It speaks highly of you and the influence you’ve had, directly or not, being a good role model for her.
ER: I consider her as one of my greatest projects! Having your child finish up and go to become successful and be a good person and very compassionate… she cares about the world! It really makes a big difference.
KB: This has been an inspiring conversation!
ER: One thing to tie it all together, for the women who are starting their careers in architecture, when I was in architecture, I was really focused on getting my license, but if you lose your passion don’t push it. You just need to be open to exploring other things. I didn't know I was going to be back in the built environment. I’m not a practicing architect, but I’m in the built environment--in the construction industry, which gave me more opportunities, and it is very rewarding to be part of the bigger picture, part of larger decision making, and so it’s really about finding your passion. Don’t get frustrated if it’s not going your way, just find your passion.