Birmingham, Ala. (Aug. 23, 2016) – Time for another introduction to one of our new hires! This week, help us in welcoming, Justin Burkholder, our Intern Architect and IT director into the CMH family! He works diligently and balances responsibilities in two different realms of the office, and we are immensely grateful for him. He took a moment out of his busy schedule to answer some questions about himself below. Check it out!
How old are you? 26 years old, born in 1990.
Where are you originally from? Well, I was born in Germany when my parents were stationed there in the Army. But for most of my life I grew up in Warner Robins, GA, just south of Macon.
Are you from a big or small family? It started out small with just my sister and I, but when my parents got divorced in 2000 both of my parents remarried. Currently, I have two step brothers, two step sisters, and my real sister. Most of my extended family live elsewhere in the US, California and Colorado mostly.
Where did you study? Being from Georgia after graduating high school, I applied to University of Florida, Clemson University, and Auburn University. After I got the acceptance letter from Auburn, I knew there was nowhere else I would like to study, mainly because it is one of the only accredited architecture programs in the south east. After my freshman year, I took one look at the bill and decided I was not going to pay that much again. For the next year I paused my studies, got a job at Chick-fil-a in Auburn, and made sure I jumped through the hoops that got my residency in Alabama and eligibility for instate tuition. I graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor in Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design after 5 years (the program is 5 years).
How did you become interested in architecture? A combination of growing up with boxes and boxes of Legos and my enjoying solving problems. That is also why I love IT, so being in a position where I get to do both is great. I still buy Lego sets every once in a while.
When were you hired at CMH? I was hired at the beginning of December in 2015, about 4-5 months after graduating. I interviewed with a few smaller firms than CMH during that summer before getting the job posting from my previous thesis professor. I was hired just before my 6 months grace period for my student loans, so I was pretty excited to start at CMH.
What do you like about CMH? The small atmosphere of the firm, but not so small as to be stretched thin between various tasks. I’m in a position at CMH where I get to do two things I love: architecture and IT.
Thanks, Justin, and welcome to CMH!