The Path to Becoming an Architect

Arthur Logan was working as an electrician helper in 2005 when a coworker told him, "You're in the wrong field. You need to be an architect."

"When I became an electrician helper, I started seeing how buildings were actually going up. And I was playing a part in that," says Logan. He decided architecture was something he wanted to seriously pursue and made a plan to go to school during the day and work at night to accomplish his goal.

With that plan in mind, Logan started working at the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) as a night custodian in 2010 and began attending Howard University to study architecture in 2011. "I participated in the student loan repayment program that we have here at the Architect of the Capitol, so that helped with my schooling," he says.

Logan says that his mentors at the AOC were always very supportive of his career ambitions and his education. When he graduated from Howard in 2017 with an architectural degree, he was able to take on a detail position with the AOC's Energy and Design Services Division. "The whole front office and engineering department took me under their wing, and each one of them gave me different nuggets of encouragement and knowledge," says Logan. "They helped me proceed to where I'm at now."

During his detail, Logan successfully applied for an open junior architect position in the Senate Office Buildings. "When the opportunity came up over on the Senate side, I jumped on it."

Logan's favorite aspect of his current role is preserving history. "Looking at it from a historic standpoint — the beauty of the buildings we have over here at the Senate, and keeping that history alive and maintaining it, I think that’s one of the most beautiful things of my job. And I'm helping to solve problems. That's what makes this job so exciting."

He also enjoys being able to work in a collaborative role where he's always learning. "I'm working with every trade in the building, because mostly every project needs someone's hand in it. And luckily, we have some of the best men and women here to give insight," says Logan. "I'm able to manage that project a little better by getting their insight from the beginning."

Having a strong support system, both at work and at home, has been key for Logan's career. "I've encountered some great individuals all the way through my path. I'm a firm believer that you constantly learn, you never stop learning and you take every bit of information that someone gives you."

"Toward my last year at Howard, I met my now-wife, and she really pushed me over the hump." He also values the support of his supervisor, Bonnie Holod. "Bonnie pushes me, she steers me in the right direction, and I can go to her about anything," he says. "She's definitely helped me along this journey, and I have to take my hat off to her, because she is the reason why I can continue to do projects and succeed, because of her guidance and mentorship."

Juggling education and work posed a challenge at times, but Logan says the end result was worth it. "I definitely lost a lot of sleep. On my desk at school, I had a note that I wrote to myself saying that the reward is greater than the struggle. So, whenever I felt like I couldn’t make it, I would always look back at that note," he says.

"It was a hard journey, but in life to be successful, nothing is easy. And you have to walk that tough path to get where you want to be. It's not just you, you have to pick up pieces along the way from different mentors, different people that you encounter, to get where you need to be. I think that's one of the reasons why I’m here at this point today."