18 Ron Janus Acob RON JANUS ACOB is graduating with a Bachelor's of Science in Architecture. He is pursuing a career in this field because it is a discipline of creative design thinking and problem-solving within the built environment. It will also allow him to learn from and collaborate with different users, groups, and communities he is a part of through design and create responsive and meaningful architecture. Acob spent his early childhood in the Philippines and moved with his family to pursue better opportunities in the United States. He credits his mother as a role model for being hard-working, passionate, and goaldriven, as she has taken on both parent roles as a single mom and worked many menial jobs to raise a family. He has also observed the sacrifice and challenges his mother faced. This lived experience gave him the drive to pursue highereducation and his goals, and he recognized that he has a platform to uplift the socio-economic conditions of families and communities with similar backgrounds and narratives. In the past four years, Acob has been a student leader in Kaibigan, the Filipino American Student Organization at PSU, participated in Leadership Fellows, and interned at The Center of Public Interest Design. His most memorable experience at Portland State University is being cast as a lead in a musical called Re-presented, despite having no previous experience in singing, dancing, and acting. After graduating from PSU, he plans on taking a gap year in his education and focusing on working for community development and non-profit organizations to learn further and expand his experience in community design. In addition, he hopes that this experience will help him develop a more significant focus within the field of architecture before attending graduate school. Acob wants to give his parents a big salamat (thank you) for supporting his goals and aspirations and for being prime examples of determination and hard work. He also wants to thank his professors, mentors, advisors, friends, scholarship donors and the community who have played a role in his growth and success. COLLEGE OF THE ARTS STUDENT SPEAKERS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz