Leslie E. Diaz de Leon Flores has spent the summer interning at Seattle’s SMR Architects, whose mission is to design, preserve, and advocate for affordable housing. In her role, Leslie has expanded her architecture knowledge and brought her own experiences to projects she has encountered.
Leslie is an Architecture Studies major at the University of Washington, hoping to transition to the school’s Architectural Design program. “I’ve always seen architecture as this dream career for me because of my interest in math and visual art throughout high school,” she explained. Leslie’s passion for the field was solidified when her father began bringing landscape drawings home from his new landscape construction job during the pandemic. In high school, she completed a three-week shadow program at Mithun, a Seattle-based architectural firm, and participated in a summer program in architecture with the University of Illinois in Chicago. Steph Salazar, Associate Director of Career Development at Rainier Scholars helped Leslie land her internship with SMR Architects this summer.
“I got to work on a residential housing project for Seattle Housing Authority that will be part of Yesler Terrace’s redevelopment,” Leslie explained. Her work for the 114-unit building included going on weekly site visits and preparing field reports. She was also involved in compiling sustainability compliance documents for the project, including researching access and materials. It’s an area where her lived experience directly impacted her work. “One of the points that I looked at for sustainability was access to transportation,” she explained. “Because of personal experience — I grew up taking the bus downtown — I knew the apps and the trackers online to find the information, and I’ve been able to share that.”
As a tenant of an affordable housing residence herself, Leslie also added her unique input to discussions about the Yesler Terrace building and other SMR projects. “I’ve been able to share my perspective and what I see around my own apartment complex,” Leslie recalled. “I’ve talked to the teams and asked them about their project goals. People listen when you share your perspective.”
Sharing her thoughts and participating in this way is something she might not have been able to accomplish without her experience in Rainier Scholars. “I used to be a really shy person and did not talk at discussions at all,” she remembered. “Because of Rainier Scholars, I learned to be more organized and confident in myself and to express my thoughts, especially working on projects like this.”
Looking ahead, Leslie hopes her future career in architecture includes a social aspect of communicating directly with people, especially people from marginalized groups. “I want to keep an aspect of embracing equity and diversity and encompassing communities that don’t necessarily get buildings tailored to them,” she explained. “I don’t know what that might look like, but I’m grateful that I’ve been able to come into a project like this, especially when you don’t see a lot of people from my background going into architecture. It’s been really refreshing and a great summer experience.”