HTC Alumni Success Story
A Blueprint for Success
|
Brian Anderson brings a lot of enthusiasm to his job. That’s because he really likes going to work. Maybe it’s because he has his own design studio in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Maybe it’s because he really enjoys what he does. Either way, this 1996 graduate of HTC’s Architectural Drafting program believes that the training he received at HTC has played a part in his success. |
 |
“I was always interested in drafting and drawing, and it was something I had done in high school,” said Anderson, who is a native of Cambridge, Minnesota. Then one day he got an HTC flyer in the mail and he decided to check into what the college had to offer. What he found was a match for his interests and his learning style.
“I really loved it,” Anderson says as he reflects on the hands-on training he found at HTC. “You’d sit down and have lecture in the classroom, then you got to take that information and apply it. I work really well that way.” Instructors Jim Swanson and Wayne Skibicki, who have since retired, were both great, Anderson recalls. “Wayne had a lot of experience and shared that, so students felt like they knew what the real work world would be like when they graduated,” said Anderson. When Anderson asked Jim Swanson about the possibility of some outside work, the instructor arranged that, something Anderson still appreciates.
After graduating from the two-year program, Anderson gained experience working at a couple of architectural firms, then he started work on a freelance project and Anderson Design Inc. was born. That was in 2001. Today, Anderson handles between 40 and 60 projects a year. He has found that his time working for Shea Architects, Inc. in Minneapolis, provided him with remarkable work experience. “Without that, I don’t think I’d be where I am today,” explained Anderson.
In considering his HTC experience, Anderson says that an important aspect of his training was the value placed on being open-minded about projects. “You get a base of knowledge and then you can apply it and use creative thinking,” said Anderson. “I’m always looking for the challenge to get something accomplished, so I don’t go into a project thinking of why something won’t work, but considering what could work.”
That’s the attitude that makes clients glad to do business with Anderson. “I like to deal directly with my clients and handle every aspect of a project for them,” said Anderson. It’s that enthusiasm for working with clients and finding creative ways to meet their needs and expectations that keeps Brian Anderson happily starting each day at work.
Contact HTC at 952-995-1300 or info@hennepintech.edu
Copyright © 2009 by Hennepin Technical College