Harvard GSD Landscape Architecture in Urban Design
Julia Zhu | Harvard Graduate School of Design | Harbin Institute of Technology
听Julia讲述她如何调整心态：Julia’s PinUp Webinar
听Julia讲述她如何调整心态：Julia’s PinUp Webinar
Why in-maginative
When Julia talked with Seth for the first time, she immediately decided to work with in-maginative.
“I had little insight into my major or graduate application when I first met with Seth. My reason was simple. Seth is trustworthy. And I got his unconditional trust as well.”
From love to doubt
Julia has always been thinking about the social value of her designs. In her first year of application, she was really struggling with her thoughts and was unable to focus on her work. She finally decided to take a gap year.
“I was especially into my major when I was in UC Berkeley. That’s why I decided to study in the US.
But after further exploration, I found my major taking too small a role in social issues. I was unable to trust in what I was doing when I was preparing my portfolio for MLA last year. All I wanted is to get into top programs and use that nice brand to find a job or dip my toe in a new field. I was in huge depression. Then I talked with Seth and decided to take a gap year. In the end, the struggle is meaningful.”
Besides designing itself
In her exchange experiences, Julia realized that addressing social issues calls for various kinds of efforts. Economy, technology, policy are all important factors. She tried to jump out of the perspective of only her major and developed new insights.
“Honestly, I’m not that good at designing. But I do have tons of ideas. What I have to do is to find methods to express my thoughts. When I talked with Seth, he recommended several programs in GSD. Also, he gave me some assignments. I learnt more about urban design and risk resilience program, which I had never thought about. I got internships during the gap year and learnt some analyzing techniques.”
Gap year worth it
During her gap year, Julia did an internship and graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology. She has been thinking about where she could go, and how. She talked to her in-maginative mentor from time to time and got inspired by readings and websites that Seth recommended. Then she started her second year application with a clearer mind and direction, UD.
“Seth encouraged me to visit different websites and get inspired. Also I reached out to various mentors or peers and talked with them on the topics I concerned. I realized that I have to work on what I really believe in. Urban Design makes more sense to me. And I learned to transform my anxiety into the motivation for finding a solution. Gap year for me is a chance for reflecting on my struggles and adjusting my direction. These are much more important than getting into top schools.”
What is a portfolio?
Through working with in-maginative, Julia has gained a new understanding of portfolios. Instead of a collection of nice-looking pictures, a portfolio should tell stories clearly to express one’s ideas.
“I seemed not to care about details like formats and graphics before. But now I know that all the details serve for the efficiency of visual expression. A good portfolio tells stories, makes readers easily understand one's intention and solution. Also, whenever I felt lost, I would go to Seth. His comments are always straight to the point.”
我该学什么专业？
本科学习商务英语专业的Jingxuan, 在选择研究生方向时感到迷茫。刚和in-maginative合作时，她曾考虑过教育、金融甚至动物学。 “Seth让我完成了几项写作任务，来回溯我的过往经历，找到能指导我未来选择的线索。Seth要求我把我喜欢和讨厌的事物分类，并给出书面的评价。这个过程对我来说是了解自己很好的机会。当我描述教育方向时，我发现自己用了‘我不讨厌教书’的表述。我意识到自己对这个领域可能没什么热情。”
公关是什么？
通过Jingxuan对不同话题的浏览和写作，Seth对她也有了全面对了解，也能够提供更个性化的指导点播。Jingxuan读完有关公共关系项目的材料后，发现自己这个方向可能非常适合自己的个性。但公关是做什么的呢？她没有头绪。 “我发现Seth在帮助客户找方向这件事儿上很敏锐。我不知道他怎么就把我和公关联系上了，但是我了解了PR这个领域后，我觉得就是它了。” “Seth随即就督促我找PR相关的实习机会。我的第一份实习确实给我构建了对这个领域的最初概念。但Seth说这还不够，让我继续找实习。”
一份实习远远不够
Jingxuan在忙于英语考试和校内课业，同时Seth在督促她找实习。那段时间挺难的。但Jingxuan最终勇敢地打开了顶尖PR公司的大门，最终进入了BCW实习。 “Seth一直push我找公关领域的实践机会。他也鼓励我去直接联系最顶尖的公司，不要妥协。这不太容易。但通过这种方式，Seth训练我的专业性和培养了我的勇气。也正因为Seth的‘催促’，我找到了顶尖的实习机会，学习到非常多。 ”
发掘我的潜力
Jingxuan在和in-maginative合作的过程中有很多收获。通过写作训练和实习经验，她在系统的指导下，发掘到自己的很多潜力。更好的自我认识和对行业的理解帮助她树立了对未来的信心。 “我以前都不知道自己很擅长也很喜欢写东西。如果没有长期深入地实践，我也不会对公关工作这么有信心。第一手观察是我做决定的很重要的参考。也因为Seth的鼓励，我能够坚定地遵循我的热情，进一步探索我的潜力。”