In honor of teacher appreciation week, SweisKloss’ design team celebrates the mentors and teachers who inspired and encouraged them along their architectural journeys.
Irina Tehrani calls Professor Deykov a true “Renaissance Man”. Irina met Professor Deykov while preparing for her architecture entrance exams in Sofia, Bulgaria. Like the philosophers of the Renaissance, Professor Deykov assembled around him a community of like-minded students to draw, paint, and discuss art and architecture. Under his guidance his community learned to question, to critically think and to view everything through the lens of an artist and architect. With a vast knowledge of art and architectural history, Professor Deykov could have been a master builder, yet he chose to devote himself to guiding, inspiring, and teaching. And that group of aspiring architects he fostered? They continue to support each other in and out of the classroom.
It’s not always about the textbooks and assignments. The most significant mentors in Cynthia Salah Kraus’ life were the ones that believed in her when she was struggling to believe in herself. While earning her master’s degree in architecture, an encouraging professor gave Cynthia the assurance and confidence she needed that architecture was the right path for her future. Similarly, a mentor at her first corporate job validated her ideas and her designs. “They were the ones that made me feel like I belonged in this profession and I can still feel their encouraging energy today.”
As the writer of this blog, I thank my freshman English professor who gave me the confidence in my writing at a time when navigating college itself was daunting, let alone mastering assignments. Walking his dog along the leafy quad, his office hours were a chance to discuss my fears, accomplishments, and more importantly explore a range of writing styles from music lyrics to funny poetry. And while I am not an architect or designer, my degree and love of art history was spurred by my professor of Italian Renaissance art who made the 15th and 16th centuries come alive in the basement of the arts building.
To all those educators with have supported us personally and professionally, we thank you.
