Dinner in the Street 2023: Celebrating our Graduates
May 4, 2023
Having defended their theses, graduating Master of Architecture students celebrated their accomplishments on April 25 at the school’s traditional Dinner in the Street.
About 90 people attended the joyous event at the Architecture Building, including 45 thesis students plus faculty, staff, visiting reviewers, and donors.
“I was super impressed with the work,” said Director Anne Bordeleau. “Huge congratulations to all the students. You can be very proud of all you have accomplished.”
“Through my undergrad and my master’s at the school, I feel that we’ve been encouraged to step out of the conventional mold and the status quo and explore our own individual interests, design process, and graphic language,” said Natasha Lemire-Waite, one of three graduates who delivered remarks.
“What comes through is the breadth of beautiful and thoughtful work that has created such a wide array of projects, with students coming from different backgrounds, disciplines, cities, and interests, and how the faculty is able to cater to all those various needs,” she said.
It was the first in-person Dinner in the Street since 2019, honouring those graduating from the professional program.
Chef Justine Deschenes, an Algonquin from Kitigan Zibi QC, prepared the delicious meal which included rabbit, buttercup squash, mushroom strudel, Bannock, and cherry lavender tartlet.
During the pandemic, the celebration took place on Zoom in 2020 and 2021, with meals delivered to the graduates. In September 2022, students returned to campus after two years of teaching and learning online.
“My grad school journey started off attending Zoom University, where I designed studio projects on sites located in a city I had never visited,” noted graduate Robert Oleksiak.
“So, when we were asked to reflect on our time here at Carleton and speak on what made it meaningful, this academic year was what came to mind,” he said. “Architecture school really is all about being with and learning from each other.”
The evening’s program included a photo booth where graduates gathered in groups to capture the special moment with friends.
“What a place to be among all these talented, dedicated, wonderful people,” said graduate Connor Tamborro.
“The international students who have come and gone, the exchange students, and even Directed Studies Abroad. Each of these incredible people I have met has become lifelong people I call friends, and I dedicate that all to this school’s stance in the world of design education.”
Associate Director Graduate Zachary Colbert and Associate Professor Lisa Moffitt, chair of the MArch program, also addressed the graduates.
“The students have all risen to the challenge set before them to engage meaningfully with a topic of deep interest,” said Dr. Moffitt. “I’ve just been continually surprised and impressed by the depth of the questions students are asking and the quality and rigour of the methods they are using to do so.”
See the photo gallery:
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