A Room Can Speak the World, Without Saying a Thing

Not your typical room. It seemed empty, tall ceilings with empty walls. First impression was a lasting impression. This class and this room were shortly going to become my worst nightmare. The computers screamed late nights and lots of papers. I suddenly realized that failure to listen to my gut instinct (that was telling me to run) could result in a lower grade point average this semester. However, I thought about one thing as I sat in the white-walled, maroon chaired, computer infested room; I thought “This is my chance, my opportunity to immerse myself in the unknown, to battle something I have long tried to avoid and become a much better student than before.”

Defining

My entire life has constantly consisted of defining who I am. Who I am as a person, where I stand in a person’s life and how I’d like to be remembered. I refuse to be considered average, and just become another passer-by in someone’s life. Virginia Tech, my dream school, the only place I ever wanted to be was considered a school far out of my grasp, a school who wouldn’t accept me as my SAT scores and GPA just did not measure up to the university’s standards. I decided to take a chance, a leap of faith, and shoot for something others claimed unattainable.

Virginia Tech saw me for me, and in that instant I no longer had to try to define and prove whom I was to those I felt had failed me. I never had the option of taking an honors class in high school, let alone an advanced placement course. After taking the SATs three times my scores did not improve, all that much. Despite the lack luster numbers Virginia Tech looked at me as a person and all that I had to offer and was willing to give me a chance of attending this prestigious institution. I owe the university my hard work and dedication, they took a chance on me and I am not one to disappoint. I have at times failed in my life, but look where failure has gotten me thus far. It is hard to see past the present and focus on the future, the here and now takes precedents above all else; I was able to persist past failure and work hard to get where I sit today. I accept failure, not light-heartedly, but I can accept it and move forward, however, what I cannot accept is giving up. I really thought that college was not an option for me when I first arrived at Virginia Tech; I was failing tests, my family and most of all myself. The easy option – to run and never look back, but as quitting slowly started to consume me, I understood that hard work, persistence, perseverance and above all else the will power to continue was truly what defined me.

A Survivor, A Breath of Air

As she sat on her bathroom floor sobbing she couldn't help but ask herself, “why me?” A rush of uncontrollable emotions was triggered by the thought of the word - “cancer.”

Women's health guidelines recommend yearly mammograms for all women beginning at age 40; she was only 33.

It all started one morning in the shower when Claudia Serpico felt a lump while washing her body. Her fingers detected something she knew was foreign, something she knew didn’t belong.

“It scared the hell out of me,” she said.

She immediately jumped out of the shower and called her husband at work. He convinced her not to panic and that it was probably nothing to worry about. They would visit the doctor ASAP.

“I had no idea where to begin. How do you explain to a 9-and 4-year-old that you have cancer? It's amazing how your world can be turned upside down. Everything that you once thought was fair and just in your world 24 hours ago no longer is. To say the least, my life as I had known it changed in an instant,” said Serpico.

Serpico is a 20-year survivor of breast cancer and one whose life has changed dramatically from that very first moment she discovered the small lump.

Serpico's mother, Marie Basel, had been diagnosed with cancer just three years prior to Serpico discovering the lump in her own breast. Having witnessed her mother's recent struggle with cancer helped heighten Serpico's awareness of the many implications associated with the disease and reminded her of the daunting statistics. Her mother having had cancer meant that the chances she now had cancer were dramatically increased.

“As much as I understood my increased risk for cancer, still I never thought I would be a mother with two young children, with a husband and with cancer,” she said.

Because of her young age the doctors initially assured Serpico that the lump was probably nothing more than a cyst and nothing to be overly concerned about. However the test results told a much different story. The lump was not a cyst, it was a tumor and the tumor was not benign, it was malignant. She had cancer.

“At the time I was diagnosed my father-in-law worked at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York,” she said. “Twenty years ago health insurance wasn't like it is today,” she continued, “things were quite different. At any rate, he told me to come to the hospital and they wouldn't charge me. I got to see one of the best breast surgeons in the U.S. at the time.”

Serpico, holding back tears, said, “I remember my oldest daughter, Andrea, having friends over and I would run my fingers through my hair and huge clumps of it would fall out. Andrea would tell her friends that I was shedding like a dog. She had no idea what was going on.”

“I don't remember much, I was only 9 years old at the time,” said Andrea Gregory, Serpico’s oldest daughter. “My mom and dad sat us down in the “white room,” the one no one is ever allowed in, and my father did the talking. I do remember thinking my mom was going to die,” she said. “I remember when she lost her hair, and I 
remember not understanding why. A lot of friends brought food, I had a lot of sleepovers at friends homes, and a lot of babysitters.”

After Serpico received a lumpectomy she received both chemotherapy and radiation treatments, treatments she states seemed agonizing and unbearable at times, but they saved her life. Serpico’s struggle continued as she tried to balance being a mother, a wife and a cancer patient. There were times when she felt lost, as if there was nothing that anyone could do or say to her.

“I remember one morning going upstairs and taking my blow dryer, curling iron, and brush and throwing them across my bathroom because I knew that there was nothing that they could do for me anymore,” she said. “I lost all my hair, my eyebrows and my eyelashes. No matter what I did I was no longer the same.”

Serpico remembers the day her aunt, Dolores Puydak, came to watch her two daughters, “she brought a crock pot of food and she looked at me and said, even if you feel like sobbing and giving up, you need to wake up every morning, put on a little make-up, get dressed and go downstairs.”

“My daughter Noreen and her were great friends and they loved the beach,” said Puydak. “The one thing I will always remember about Claudia is that she was a looker. Even when she had cancer she was beautiful.”

Serpico’s Aunt Dolores and her family helped her to win the biggest battle she ever had to face.

“Without them I don’t know what would have happened to me,” she said “they helped me every step of the way.”

Serpico found both inspiration and solace in those around her. She found great source of motivation in her daughters who ultimately became the driving force in her recovery.

“Their smiles and their laughs alone were enough to fight for,” Serpico said.

“When Andrea graduated eighth grade I just sat there sobbing because I didn’t think I would live to see her graduate middle school,” she said. “I sat there with my husband, my youngest daughter Kathryn, and my in-laws and just bawled the entire time.”

“I never thought I would live to see my eldest daughter graduate high school, let alone see both my girls graduate from college, get married, and become a grandmother,” Serpico said.

Between 1984 and now Serpico has learned the importance of family, love, and most importantly life. She never surrendered to the disease, learned to live with the cancer and become a survivor.

“It took a long time,” Serpico said “but when I heard the words “cancer free” I knew I had made it. All I needed was to hear those two words. It was as if I could breathe again.”

The Infamous

He is completely unorganized. He walks into the library with heavy feet. There is no need for me to turn around to know what is coming. His heavy feet slow to a stop adjacent to where I am sitting. I have no idea who he is, and I assume he has no idea who I am. With abrupt movements he unzips his backpack and throws his laptop on the table, the cord hits me in the arm and he says nothing. Despite appearing disorganized he seems very focused, staring intently at the blank computer screen; about an hour passes before he gets up and leaves, never once meeting my gaze. I continue to sit in the library, minding my own business and no longer than thirty minutes after the boy has left I hear the same heavy feet, the same walking pattern and the bright red shirt he wears comes into my peripheral vision. The only difference about our encounter this time is the fact that his old seat is now occupied. He looks confused as if the entire student body should be aware this seat at this particular table belongs to him. Without saying a word I hear him take that first step toward a new seat, same table just at the opposite end.

The Weight Room

They swipe my card and I walk through the security gate, then make a left and head down the first flight of stairs. When I reach the landing and then look to my right I see a rectangular portrait size hole is cut from the cement wall and get a quick preview of the infamous weight room. What's with this viewing hole? It feels like some sort of viewing station in a high security prison. Is the concrete barrier to keep us out or our iron pumping mates in? I don't feel like I’m in school anymore or even on campus for that matter. It's like I’ve crossed some threshold and entered some foreign and unfamiliar place. It’s intimidating, but I really want to lift.

First stop is the locker room where I deposit and secure my street clothes, backpack, money, jewelry and lifeline (hokie passport). As I move out of the locker room and then continue toward my long overdue work out I’ve now entered the gym and have come face to face with the weight room. Occupied almost exclusively by men I move quickly, trying to avoid eye contact but at the same time studying the group discreetly. Who is using steroids and who is not? Hormones, steroids and more hormones - very intimidating. The weight room is probably not the best place for me, your average 98-pound weakling, to be hanging around. These guys are serious about their bodies and their muscles and therefore their workouts. In here it's all about big plates, big arms, big chests, big plans, focus, dedication, commitment and big workouts. I decide that I’m going to start eating better and get in shape - but not today and not here, maybe tomorrow. I make a razor-sharp left turn and head back up the same stairway I just descended only moments before but this time I pass by the locker room and continue on up one more level.

As I reach the third floor I immediately feel more comfortable. The intimidation factor has disappeared and the air is lighter. I feel more "at home." The third floor is a world apart from the first floor and the weight room. There is something about the third floor, just something, and as I begin to run I gradually start to understand what that something is. I see more women and more familiar and friendly faces on the third floor, it has a subdued, calm, inviting atmosphere and something that just makes me feel good and less self-conscious. It is a place where I feel as if I am not being judged and where all my anxiousness and worries subside. This is a place where I can workout and focus. It’s a place where I can fit in.

After a tough but satisfying workout I head back down to the first floor. Instead of making a beeline for the locker room I decide to face the fear once more and, so with the Jaws theme song playing in my head, timidly walk into that dreaded place for the second time today. I have been avoiding this place ever since I have arrived here at Virginia Tech but I really want to lift and I really want to overcome my trepidation. Looks of confusion and then disgust are aimed my way as the group realizes that I might actually be thinking of invading their space. I feel uneasy and like I really don't belong here. By the looks on these guys' faces I can tell that they don't think I belong here either. I'm scared but I'm also angry so contrary to what my gut is telling me to do, which is to turn around and run, I stay and walk over toward the free weights. What I thought would happen and what actually happened were two completely different things. I thought that the guys would get over the initial shock of seeing a small girl in the weight room and then carry on with their everyday workout, but I was wrong. I continued to get stares from everyone that was standing in that room. These guys acted like I was the carrier of some deadly disease as they slowly walked away from the free weights and then each and every section of the room that I ventured into. I soon knew the feeling of complete isolation - I was an outsider.

Committed to getting into better shape and to furthermore face my fears, for the rest of the week I continued to return to and to workout in the weight room. The faces eventually begin to become familiar. I soon begin to notice that there are different groups not just within the gym, but also within the weight room itself. Every week night I would see the jocks working out together, then the body builders, then you had the guys who really tried really hard wanting to obtain some muscular substance (but it didn't look as if it had paid off thus far), and now on rare occasions a few girls working out together. I was secluded, all alone and now was beginning to understand why I never went into that room. It was plain and simple intimidation.

Now that football season has ended and basketball just begining the room is stock full of our best linebackers and our starting basketball players, just keeping in shape for next season. The "jocks", as they are better known as, all stick together laughing and joking as they squat over 150 pounds of weight. The way you can decipher the athletes from the mainstream, run of the mill student is that they are covered in Virginia Tech Orange Bowl gear from their sweatbands to their socks. The jocks work hard in that weight room, but they play hard too, joking, laughing and messing around (after all it is the off-season).

Bodybuilding by definition is the process of developing the musculature of the body through specific types of diet and physical exercise, such as weight lifting. The weight room is jam-packed with the body builders; they represent the largest subculture in that room by far. The sizes of their arm muscles are bigger than most girls' thighs, and appear as if they are rock hard. However, unlike the athletes or jocks they are strictly business; all work and no play. "We spend hours in the gym each afternoon, and if we can't be here for more than an hour at a time we come twice" Chad Rotermund states. Chad continues by saying "our goal is trying to sculpt the ideal body, as close to perfect as we can manage."

The last group I observed was the guys that I see, without fail, every time I am in Mccomas. They workout so very hard in pursuit of that "acceptable" body, but somehow always fall short (you look at them and feel sad for them with all their effort, but no visible reward). I talked to a guy by the name of Neal Sekhri, and asked him what his reasoning was coming to the gym everyday? His reply was trouble-free, effortless, and undemanding: "To be honest, I have realized that I will probably never acquire the type of body that those guys over there have (as he points to the jocks or body builders), but as least I can say I try." Neal continues with a smirk on his face and a quiet laugh and says, "Maybe it’s the lack of performance enhancing drugs. I chose an all natural approach a long time ago.” (Sekhri)

Toward the end of the week, I think the guys in the weight room started
to recognize my face and their shock subsided. I don't think I was accepted
into their club but I think I started to blend into the background and become somewhat unnoticed.

As Virginia Tech students, all 30,000 of us are members of subcultures; a
subculture made up of college students, a subculture of undergraduates, post graduates, athletes, a subculture made up of Blacksburg residents, a subculture of engineers, science majors, communication majors - and the list goes on. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of different subcultures within this one university.

I have learned things that have given me new perspective on diversity, people and the groups that form among us. For one week I was able to segregate and differentiate between the different people, groups, cultures and subcultures that existed in just one room, in one building, on one campus. It was a cool and eye opening realization to see a world that I had never considered before. The world is full of great diversity and a complexity that is infinite in nature. What I observed was little more than a minute fraction of this diversity. I am getting the feeling that what I observed is a more universal phenomenon that applies to many different areas of our lives and our world. I furthermore believe that the study and analysis of different cultures and subcultures may be a key to achieving peace and understanding in, what appears to be, an ever increasingly volatile world.

Memoir

Ignore the killer fatigue, all the unpleasant effects of the constant stress, the headache, the personal issues of the day and pull it all together. I've got a surgical procedure to implant and ICD in an eleven year old at 7:30 AM. It requires a sure, steady hand, perfect focus and pure concentration. Make no mistakes. Got that 9 AM follow-up consultation with the 16 year-old girl and her parents explaining all the implications of her Long QT diagnosis. Will need to put on my game face and encourage the young patient and her family to see beyond the grim aspects of the disease and find some silver lining here. Try to describe how her "new" life won't be all that bad - good luck. Say all the right things - make no mistakes. Skip lunch again to be able to visit and evaluate a dozen very young and very sick children as promised. Display the big smile and happy face, try not to cry and show lots of optimism. Try to figure out how to best make their lives longer, happier, healthier, better. Choose the right therapies, prescriptions, and procedures - make no mistakes. Return all phone calls to PCPs and little patient's parents. Be kind, compassionate, caring, and patient. Eat lunch/dinner/vitamins. Forget about the sadness and helpless feelings and fall asleep so I can do a better job tomorrow. 


To dream, by definition, imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake (dictionary.princton.edu). I dreamt that someday I would wake, put on my white coat, and save the lives of thousands. I would make a difference in children’s lives but in families lives. After I conducted extensive research I discovered that only seven percent of students that apply to medical school get in (aamc.org). Instead of taking life as I go, I tend to construct my life ahead of time. When listing the pros and the cons of what my chances were to attain my medical degree I soon concluded that I was living in a dream that was anything but a reality.

I sit alone in my room, studying hard, adamant to never miss a class, but still continue to fail almost every exam. Feelings of dejectedness and heartbreak slowly consume me. I was tired, I was tired of studying, I was tired of crying, and most of all I was tired of failing. At this very moment the easiest thing for me to do is quit and walk away. I am thinking about running and never looking back. Being here, at Virginia Tech, is the only thing that I ever really wanted, and now the thoughts of not wanting it anymore where crossing my mind, could that be possible? I was struggling enough, slowly watching my dreams of becoming a doctor slip through my fingers, and now my entire college career was being swept away with it. I am 584 miles from home, from family, from anything or anyone remotely comforting. I slowly started picking up a textbook and immediately felt the sadness over come me, soon I could no longer read the words, as the liquid tears filling up my eyes, made everything a blur, soon there after my tears were slowly starting to hit the pages dropping fast and hard, like torrential downpours in April. First the words were becoming illegible, then the page in its entirety. I am losing my self; I am little by little losing who I am. The tears continually falling filling up the book as if it were an empty bucket.

The greatest thing about coming to college is that no one knew me; I could be whom ever I wanted to be. Know one had to know that in high school I got cut from the cheerleading team or that I was the girl who was the butt of everyone’s unruly jokes. I could be anyone, anybody I wanted, and not one person had to know, unless I wanted to open my heart and let him or her into the past I longed to forget. It was up to me to create my identity, my image and my reputation as a Hokie. I could learn from mistakes, make independent decisions and wisely chose how I wanted to live my life

If I have learned anything from Virginia Tech since I have been here it is that unless you try, and fail, you may have always wondered, you may have always asked “What if?”. I had to reach out and expand my horizons, only to find out that what I was once good at in the ninth grade was very different than what I excelled at now. I was able to push my way through and work hard to make it through the first semester only to discover that this was something not meant for me, something I may have never really wanted in the first place.

Today is the day I walk away from it all I get all the signatures and I am trying something new. Today is the day that I am taking a leap of faith, turning over a new leaf and forgetting what I once thought I knew. I am so nervous, maybe this is a mistake or could this possibly be the greatest opportunity for me to explore new things, and expand my knowledge far beyond the world of sciences? It is not easy admitting to myself that I was wrong, but I understand that it is ok to make mistakes and it is okay to be unsure. So today is the day that I sign off on something new.

Sometimes in life we feel as if our dreams, the only thing we had ever hoped for are shattered. That is not to say that great opportunities do not arise from them. I have learned so much from the time I have been here at Virginia Teach. I discovered that what I thought was exactly what I wanted, was anything but. I got a chance to experience something much different then before, and I liked it, in fact I loved it. When I signed the paper to leaving the college of science I thought I could potentially be making a mistake, a huge mistake. This semester is something new, different, intriguing and a breath of fresh air. I miss the thought of what could have been, but I love the thought of what is still yet to come.

The important thing to realize that hard work and struggle is not only worth it but filled with satisfaction and gratitude when finished. If everyone could just look ahead and see the finish line it is that silver lining that somehow gives you hope of a better tomorrow.

Breast Cancer Support Group

Breast Cancer Support Group
By: Kaitlyn Jankowski

The statistics are intimidating. According to the American Cancer Society, 2.4 million women living in the U.S. have already been diagnosed with and treated for breast cancer.

An estimated 192,370 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in American women during 2009. Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among U.S. women, responsible for more than one in four cancers. By the end of this year approximately 40,170 women will have died from breast cancer.

Diane Gully, facilitator of the breast cancer support group at Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg said they have realized the many implications that breast cancer has on one’s life has developed a breast cancer support group. The purpose of the hospital sponsored support group will be multi-faceted and will cover a wide range of topics that will help breast cancer survivors understand the disease - its treatments, a patient’s options, the emotional side effects and the importance of gaining a perspective and awareness of this all too common disease.

Gully talked about one of the hospital’s goals - to create a place where women can go to talk about their illness with others who are able to empathize, and not just sympathize, with them.

During support group sessions the hospital will rely on a number of medical experts and speakers who will deliver presentations addressing issues of exercise, and ways to deal with the emotions and stressors that come with the cancer. To emphasize the importance of nutrition “the dietary department provides the food and snacks for the support group,” said Teresa Higginbotham, dietary director at Montgomery Regional Hospital.

“Once a woman takes action for breast cancer, she is a survivor,” Gully said “It is something that is important for people to realize and understand, that even if a woman just started chemotherapy, she is a survivor.”

Gully said the sharing of breast cancer information by group members, by its very nature being both person and intimate, develops into a resource of profound importance that stands to benefit all.

Gully said that the Montgomery Regional Hospital support group is in a position to make a difference in these many lives. The support group facilitates the ability of breast cancer survivors to become pro-active and play a larger more important role in their own recovery.

The breast cancer support group’s next meeting will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 7 to 8:30 pm. The meeting will be held in the first floor Board Room. For more information regarding this event please call (540) 443-3932.

Changing the World One Building at a Time

Changing the World One Building at a Time
By: Kaitlyn Jankowski
October 10, 2009

For Simone du Boise it all started in Charleston, S.C. “I found this broken Coke bottle; it was clear glass. I would carry that with me and look at the houses through the glass as if it were a picture frame.” This became a pivotal moment in du Boise’s young life. It was at the age of 7 that du Boise first remembers being drawn to design and architecture. She discovered this the old fashion and maybe not so conventional way, by examining historic houses in South Carolina, and sketching them as they appeared through the broken Coke bottle.

“I rode my bike through what they call the battery down there, which is just a square with grass in the center and a gazebo. You could look out over the two rivers that would meet and form the ocean, I spent a lot of time down there,” she said. Who would have thought, that an otherwise insignificant spot would be the spark to ignite a child’s interest and passion for architecture.

Du Boise had aspirations and dreams from the very beginning to become a great success in her field. This big dream would eventually materialize into a reality. She set out to become not just another architect; she set out to make a difference. She wanted to change the world. She studied with the best, partnered with the best, and is now literally changing the world, one building at a time for the best.

In a recent telephone interview du Boise shared some interesting accounts in her life that led up to her architectural success.

Q: How did you choose Georgia Tech and was there something about their undergraduate program that make it right for you and your goals?

Du Boise: Well, I looked at a lot of schools. I looked at Vancouver in British Columbia, MIT, and Cooper Union located in New York I looked at all the campuses and I really liked all of them. However, the tipping point for me was that they were all in really, really cold climates [with a laugh] and I just didn’t think that I could make it through the winters, and I was really kind of scared of that. So I chose Georgia Tech because it was in Atlanta and it was still somewhat warm there in the winter. Maybe that is not the answer you are looking for, that I made my decision based on weather, but it is the honest truth.

Q: You did your postgraduate work at Chulalongkorn University & Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. What made you choose Asia as the place to do your postgraduate work?

Du Boise: Chulalongkorn is the king’s college for architecture; Silpakorn is Thailand’s university for archeology. My research pertained to both architecture and archeology. A professor of mine at Georgia Tech really encouraged me to apply for something called the Fulbright Scholarship to study both architecture and archeology. One day I sat down, wrote a paper, submitted it, they selected it, and ultimately decided to fund my entire research project.

However, about six months after I was there the Gulf War broke out. Because of the Gulf War they didn’t want any Americans or Europeans over in Asia, so they cut off all funding for my postgraduate work. I was right in the middle of my research and failed to see the good in dropping everything and coming back home. I stayed in Thailand for about two years. A good friend of mine got me an interview with the largest architecture firm, at that time, in Asia. I interviewed with them, and they hired me.

In Thailand, unlike what we generally see in the United States, teachers and researches are held in very high regard and are seen as people holding the most revered professions. Being a researcher at the time, I was one who held a prestigious position that allowed me to enter into a work agreement, giving me tons of time for research. I would work for a week or two and then was given substantial amounts of time off to conduct my research.

Q: Did you work independently while designing buildings in Thailand or were you working alongside someone else?

Du Boise: In Thailand architecture is a protected profession, which means that only Thai citizens can be licensed architects, so I couldn’t officially act as an architect or on my own. But I could be a lead on a design team, and that is exactly what I got to do. It was the most amazing experience. The people and the culture are very respectful of your personal space, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Q: What does it take to become a licensed architect in the U.S?

Du Boise: In the U.S. each state is different; I was licensed in Georiga first. Basically the process is that you go to school for six years. After that, each state defines at what point you can start an internship process. Typically you intern from four to six years, and the state then qualifies your internship. During the internship process you have to track all of the hours that you work. The main requirements are that you work for the firm full time under a licensed architect. You need to document the phases of design that you are involved with, what stages of the construction document you are involved with, and the interactions you have with any clientele. The criteria require that you have a certain number of hours in each area. Finally, after all of that is completed you submit everything that you’ve done during your internship for review. If the state thinks that you’ve met the criteria you then qualify to sit for the exam.

The exam is a week long, and each day you have a different component. There is a design portion of the exam, which is given over the course of two consecutive days. This part of the exam is comprised strictly of drawing and being hands on with a particular design. Another portion covers history and is multiple choice - things you should know and remember from your studies. The structural portion is all about calculations, math, loads and their effects on different building components. The last portion is the mechanical section - which deals with questions about different types of ventilation, plumbing and electrical systems.

The hardest part about the exam is that you need to pass all portions of the exam in order to be certified as a licensed architect. So it is not unusual for it to take a few years before a person becomes licensed in any one state.

I have an advanced certification, NCARB [National Council of Architectural Registration Boards], which took about 10 years for me to obtain. Acquiring this certification is a very tedious process. It takes a long time to attain NCARB certification because applicants must identify and then give in great detail every project they have ever worked on. Along with these project summaries the applicant must also obtain signatures of the project supervisors. It’s a great advanced certification to have because once an architect receives the NCARB certification, it gives them the ability to be licensed anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, including all U.S. territories. Most European Countries will recognize it as well. There are some exceptions, here in the U.S where a few states still may require additional testing.

Q: You hold architectural licenses in five different states. Hawaii is one of them. They have surfaced in the news lately because of their persistent efforts to become environmentally friendly. What projects do you have going on in Hawaii?

Du Boise: We have some continuing opportunities with the government in Hawaii, and are hoping to work with them in the near future. The solar and alternative energy is a real big thing out there. They are very cutting-edge; they may have been the very first state to implement solar standards into their building codes.

Q: Some of your projects include: resort development in the Far East, commercial/industrial projects in North America, International airports, New York /New Jersey Port Authority and others. Do you have a favorite project?

Du Boise: There are several different things that I have done in a verity of projects that I really love, [with a long pause] but I guess over all the one that I enjoyed the most was the project in Thailand. I really loved that particular project because when they put me on the design team for that development they wanted to build a resort hotel in Chiang Mai. The site they chose for this resort was across the Mae Khong River facing the king’s summer palace that has been there for over 300 years. The initial plan was to design this hotel in something called Vahaus style, which is a contemporary design; a very streamlined European style of architecture. This style was just so out of place. I thought it failed to fit in. In fact the Helvetica Font came from the Vahaus style to give you an idea of how blocky and clean lined the style was. I really wanted to talk to Thai architects and convey to them how rich their culture was and how they should celebrate that by using a more traditional style of architecture. After a lot of meetings, they decided to veer away and abandon the Vahaus style and go with a more traditional Thai style architecture. That became my favorite because there was a lot of something I like to call “Myth of Form”, which occurs when religious beliefs take form in architecture. The Buddhists had a lot of this present in their architecture. In Thailand their magic number is nine, essentially doing things in sets of threes. For example, in a Buddhist temple they will put in the center a nine-chamber box. Within the box there are sacred items placed in each of the nine chambers. The nine chambers are said to bring prosperity and good fortune to the temple and the community around it. This would be their duplication in a simple sense of Nirvana, which would be like heaven on Earth.

Q: Your latest project is a development called Weatherford Place, located in Roswell, Ga. What made you decide to start building a “green” residential development, and what was the driving force to start Cadmus Construction, the development company?

Du Boise: My partner, Denise Donahue, was really most instrumental in that. Something like Weatherford starts with a vision and her vision was very clear from the beginning. The two of us are firm believers that the world does not need another builder or developer, but what we do need is environmental stewards. That was the driving force behind the design of the entire community. Everything needed to be entirely environmentally friendly. We can’t continue doing things the same old way we’ve been doing them. We are going to tap ourselves out environmentally and push us over the edge.

Q: The eight homes you are working on now have gotten some great press from “Fox News”, Smart Home Magazine, JetsonGreen, and Metal Building Developer magazine to name just a few. How has this impacted you and your project?

Du Boise: If anything it is kind of like moral support. Because green building is so new, I think there are a lot of misunderstands of what it is and how it works. Many outsiders think that it’s like some sort of trick - like you really can’t get your energy from the sun, or you really can’t get your hot water for free. I feel as if people think we are hiding things, and not revealing pertinent information.

Q: What are some of the key features of these homes?

Du Boise: These homes, thus far have proved to be net-zero homes. Net-zero, meaning there is no utility bill at all. What makes the homes work is that they are designed as passive solar first. We do everything that we can to make the home with the proper orientation on the site, where we are located in the world, and then customized to do exactly what our particular climate is best suited for in terms of peak performance.

For example in Atlanta we are always dealing with humidity issues. It makes it a real challenge to keep the building envelope free of moisture, mold and mildew. We have tried to design the building to use the least amount of energy necessary; and yet still have it become a place you want to live in. If we were to have a box with only one door and no windows, it would be an extremely energy efficient home; but who would want to live in that? We are using new high-tech solar panels, specialized siding and unique style light harvesting devises, which allow us to design and build homes that are net-zero and aesthetically advanced.

Q: Before finishing up the first homes in Weatherford Place the housing market took a hit, how has that effected the sale of your homes?

Du Boise: Right now we have gotten good responses from people looking to purchase and they love it, and really want to live there, but with the state of the economy everyone has a house to sell first. So right now we are in a lull or waiting period.

We have recently taken our homes off of MLS [Multiple Listing Service] and FMLS [First Multiple Listing Service], those are the vehicles used to sell homes. We made the decision to take our homes off of those sites because they are appraising our homes as compared to short sales and foreclosures in our same area. Even when our homes were appraised from the beginning, they never included the alternative energy inputs that are very real, and have a huge impact on your energy bill.

Q: In the future do you hope to expand your projects to other places and bring EcoCraftä - your trademarked homes - elsewhere?

Du Boise: Absolutely, that is our ultimate goal. Not just the EcoCraftä building, but we are also very interested in creating emergency shelters for use in the U.S. and worldwide. The goal for these emergency shelters is that they are fully sustainable, a structure that you can erect very quickly, are drop shippable and have their own energy sources self contained. Something important for people to consider is this; enough energy hits the Earth in one hour to power the entire world for an entire year!

Q: What are some important lessons you have learned while at Cadmus and since taking on the Weatherford project?

Du Boise: The first big lesson I learned is that while everything made perfect sense to both Denise and I, the same understanding did not carry over to the municipalities and the local governing authorities. Since these agencies are responsible for issuing building permits it became a stumbling block. We found that local building departments were unaware of the many new alternative and energy efficient building products available today and were even skeptical of what we were doing. We saw how they were very resistant to change. We also learned that we are unwilling to let the dream go. We learned that we were not willing to compromise everything that made it what it was, the important aspects of the project in order to get a building permit. We learned that it is so important to keep a dialogue going, because we need to make this happen. We all share common ground and together we can build a better environment.

Who would have thought that a small town, southern girl would make such a gargantuan impact on the lives of others? And to think it all started with a broken Coke bottle, a pencil, a piece of paper and a dream. Du Boise ended the interview reminding the world: “if you honor the past it will help you make very sound decisions in the future. Too many times we are quick to wipe the slate clean and start over with no connection and no acknowledgement of the past or our surrounding area. It is so important to understand what you are designing.”

Column: Officials should be more open as anxiety increases on campus

The recent deaths of Virginia Tech sophomores David Metzler and Heidi Childs should come as a complete and utter shock during this first week of school. The reported deaths occurred about 12 miles from campus in northern Montgomery County. Both students were found together, shot to death.

That same day, all Tech students were notified via the VT Alerts system to be on the lookout for a man between 25 and 35 years of age who had been seen masturbating in the lounge of a dorm here on campus by a female Tech student.

The man confronted the student when he called out in an attempt to get her attention. To us all as individuals, as members of the Tech student body, as residents of Blacksburg, surrounding towns, the distinguished state of Virginia and as citizens of the United States, we should all be in complete and utter shock - but I'm afraid we're not.

Following the acts of April 16, students, facility and parents were told that security would be increased to ensure a much safer campus. The police staff was increased, all dorms were equipped with limited access - allowing only residents entry to dorms. A system known as VT Alerts was instituted to send critical warning e-mails, texts and voicemails to students and family members, and 201 electronic message boards were installed that would instantly warn those in class in the event of a dangerous situation in classrooms.

Tech has declared a safer environment for us all, so why do so many of us still feel apprehensive? As students, we continue to receive e-mails from President Charles Steger encouraging all students to "be vigilant" and "be aware of your surroundings." While this is always good advice, at the same time it can't help but increase already high levels of anxiety and general uneasiness.

While I understand that Tech has made a sincere and gallant effort to improve security on campus, still I find myself looking over my shoulder as I walk between classes or toward my car. When in my apartment, I not only bolt-lock my door but now chain-lock it as well. I carry pepper spray on my key ring and no longer enjoy the walk from bus stop to apartment in the evening.

I am not alone. My roommates, classmates and neighbors share similar feelings and worries. It is critically important that the Tech administration, the Virginia Tech Police Department and Blacksburg and State Police Departments open a dialogue with us all so we can begin to understand what is happening, what has happened to cause this fear and to answer our questions.

Are the events that happen on campus here a normalcy, following the normal trend of violence on college campuses around the globe? Or have the recent security enhancements failed? What now appears to be a steady stream of criminal acts involving aggression and violence in and around campus has worked together to discourage and desensitize our community. This is unhealthy and a step in the wrong direction.

We need the help of the administration and law enforcement authorities to communicate with us all and set a healthy course and to answer the question: How safe is Tech?