Name: Katelyn Rossier
Firm: SmithGroup
Small Business: mentorDINO, LLC
Family: Erik (husband), Gary (dog), and Milo (dog)
Years in practice: 10
Education: Bachelors of Science in Architecture and Masters of Architecture, Kent State University
Your first job: I’m not sure which one came first: Retail, Once Upon a Child & a website designer for my father’s art gallery.
What’s the most annoying thing architects do? According to my husband, Architects have a hard time NOT talking about work and architecture. There is so much more to each one of us beyond our profession. But is a profession that revolves around passion, so it is hard not to talk about it.
Favorite tool (can be digital, drafting, physical,…): Digital: Bluebeam. Drafting: Revit. Physical: many colored erasable pens.
Favorite building: This year, it is Palace of Monserrate in Portugal. The details are absolutely beautiful! It was an unexpected find and favorite of 2023.
Favorite outdoor space: I typically would pick a national park but this year has been the most I’ve ever traveled in a single year. For both work and fun. Because of this, I really value being home more than ever before. So, my backyard and deck are where I want to be and is my favorite spot right now.
What do you like to do when you’re not working? I like being active. Checking out a local brewery, adventures with the dogs, hiking, golfing, cycling and crafting. We are always looking for different national parks to explore and opportunities to take the dogs with us. I really enjoy golfing and wish I got into it earlier in my life. I like making things, and DIY projects. I sculpted my dogs to include with our wedding cake. Finally, cycling has been my stress reliever and pushing myself.
If you hadn’t become an architect, what would you have been? Maybe a teacher or professor?
What’s on your iPod/Pandora/Spotify? I’ve really been listening to more podcasts than music lately. There are so many inspiring people to learn from. These are some of my typical ones I’m listening to: Practice Disrupted, Architectette, From the Honeycomb, HappinessLab, Women Talk Construction, Building PA Podcast, and Nearly One-Fourth.
What is really awesome is I will actually be on 3 of these podcasts this year! The first one was released September 1, 2023. Check out those podcasts to hear more about my story!
In addition to your architecture practice, you founded mentorDINO. Why? mentorDINO is a company centered on providing training and knowledge sharing services for professionals in the AEC industry. There is a blog section that shares stories, celebrates those in the industry, and provides actionable advice for professionals. For the training side, I offer digital courses.
Three courses focus on recent graduates and young professionals to help them through the steep learning curve faced in our industry. Two of the courses focus on Revit drafting, but also teach about constructability, codes, common mistakes, drafting standards and more. The third course teaches Architects, Designers, and Engineers soft skills, which can help propel them forward. Some sections in that course include responsibility/ownership in their work, setting proper goals, how to build trust, understanding stress and burnout, and how to handle a networking event.
Our fourth course is teaching soft skills for team leads and firm leadership of any discipline. Some sections of this course include learning the levels of delegation, communication, empathetic listening, stress optimization/burnout, and how to give/receive feedback. We are excited to offer these training services and are actively working to add workbooks, ebooks, coaching, and mini courses to our offerings.
How did mentorDINO start? I’ve been on and off blogging since 2016 with the goal of helping others in the industry after dealing with tough challenges early in my career. Then, in 2018, I expand into coaching and training courses, but was held back by the thought of doing so many live sessions, and by wrestling with imposter syndrome. I started taking steps towards putting things together and even interviewed several people in the Pittsburgh area to get their feedback. However, it wasn’t until 2022 that everything started to come together on a full curriculum, the drive to just give it a shot, and get over the imposter syndrome. I waited until 2023 to register and launch the business, due to wedding planning in 2022, and offered the first courses in May this year.
I’ve also been blogging regularly at least one a week and also write the popular ARE Stories Series, where I share two stories a week of individuals getting through the AREs. Meeting people across the country and being able to share their stories has been so much fun, but also very humbling. I have gathered over 50 ARE stories from over 20 states. More on this is available on my blog.
How can Architects and others benefit from these trainings and resources?: We can help AEC firms onboard new staff faster, learn the software and processes that are not taught in architecture school, how to work in an office setting. Much too often, the working level staff spends a considerable time training emerging professionals on how to be an Architect. College programs teach design and problem solving, but not how to meet the challenges of day-to-day practice.
What is the best thing about running a small business? My small business is like raising a child, and seeing it grow into more than I imagined. I am still a new small business owner and balancing working full time in a firm is not easy. It takes a lot of organizing and planning. But it really lights a fire in me that helps me be a better person and architect.
The secret to my success: Organization and having a solid support network. Organizing helps me to feel in control of the tasks at hand and keeps me from burning out. The support network of positive individuals encouraging me on my journey with mentorDINO helps keep me going and helps to combat my imposter syndrome.
Advice to young architects: I have three pieces of advice. (1) Work on building relationships in the industry within and outside your firm. Relationships are the center of the profession. (2) Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It is a big learning curve starting your career but you can do it! Being uncomfortable means, you are learning and growing. And it is impossible to know everything so you’ll be learning your whole career. (3) Never assume anything and question everything. If there is something you don’t understand then ask. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! There is so much to learn and so many acronyms.