Going Green

I seem to fill a lot of my idle time with stuff. But if the time is filled then it is not idle. I seem to be stuck in an infinite loop. But seriously, I have begun to carve out some time to study the next part of my LEED exam.

Most of our projects in my office are required to be LEED. Since I’ve started our office has done an endlees stream of LEED Silver and Gold projects. I figured it was time I invested in myself to become a LEED AP BD+C. This adventure for me began late last summer.

At the University of Arizona, I purchased a class through LeadingGreen Training presented by Lorne Mlotek. It was interesting to get you thinking a different way. It was a self-paced series of testing taking and an overview of study material. I studied for about 6 weeks and then sat for my LEED Green Associate exam in August. Good news, I passed on the first try.

I have noticed as I get farther from school, the more difficult it is to study. If we rewind the clock to almost 20 years ago to when I studied for the CDT, studying seemed to come pretty easy. However, studying has never been too much of a challenge, it was always overthinking during the test. I did get a tutor for the CDT, but they did not teach me the content of the CDT. They really taught me how to take test. It was time well spent. I passed the CDT on the first sitting.

I leveraged the skills when I sat for the Architecture Registration Exam (ARE). Except for structures, I passed each portion on the first try. There was just enough in formulas that needed to be memorized that keep throwing me off. But I did pass the Exam. That was a moment of walking on air, for my fellow architects out there, you know what I’m talking about. On side note, I remember when I got the news from the Arizona State Boards, I popped my head up from my desk and the office was empty. It was Wednesday before Thanksgiving and everyone left early. I called my Mom and shared the good news with her. I’m not sure who was more excited, I do know she was proud and hung a copy of my license in her living room for a year.

I remember when everyone was scrambling to get their LEED AP in 2004 or 2005. USGBC has since retired the usefulness of this certification. But they did not remove this legacy designation for those who did pass the exam. I was not in that group back then. CDT and ARE were my focus at the time. I do like that the LEED exam is broken into smaller parts; the LEED Green Associate is a prerequisite to the LEED AP exams. Not unlike the CDT is required before you can acquire the other CSI certifications.

Back to the current LEED exam. After passing the LEED Green Associate exam, I decided that I would target to pass the next exam by my birthday. Anyone who has been putting the pieces of my blog together probably knows that I have about 6 weeks left. I’m taking a different approach to studying this time, pacing myself and really understanding the details of LEED. This goes back to the number of LEED projects our office has done and will continue to do. Sharpening a skill that is useful in my everyday practice of being an Artichoke.

…and now for something completely different.
If you spell Neil Armstrong backwards, it spells “Gnorts, Mr. Alien.”

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Friday, 29 March 2024