Source: Eastern Institute of Technology
25 seconds ago
What began as a childhood fascination with designing floor plans for her Barbies has become a real-world career path for EIT student Hannah Stroud, who recently completed a Diploma in Architectural Technology.
After finishing school at Karamū High School in Hawke’s Bay, Hannah moved to Christchurch in 2017 to study airline operations and tourism management at the New Zealand School of Tourism.
That led to a year-long internship in Colorado, where she worked as a banquet supervisor and park attendant.
EIT graduate Hannah Stroud recently completed the NZ Diploma in Architectural Technology (Level 6), turning a lifelong interest in design into a career.
But when she returned home and began working in tourism, a serious back injury, followed by the arrival of COVID-19, forced her to rethink her career path.
“I had to re-evaluate what I was going to do. I couldn’t keep working in hospitality because you need to be able to move a lot.”
That is when she remembered how much she had always loved design.
“I always tell the story. When I was a kid, instead of playing with Barbies in the usual way, I used wooden blocks to build floor plans on the ground. I would walk the Barbies through the layouts, and they would critique it,” she laughs.
She has always loved seeing how things are put together and was often hands-on growing up, helping with home renovations and DIY projects whenever she could.
Hannah started searching online and was relieved to find that EIT offered a Diploma in Architectural Technology.
“It covered a lot more on the technical side than design, which appealed to me. I like figuring out how things work.”
She enrolled in the two-year NZ Diploma in Architectural Technology (Level 6) but took a break partway through. During that time, she spent more than two years working at an architectural practice, which gave her clarity and confidence.
“I worked on residential, commercial, and educational projects and loved the detailing, working closely with builders. It really confirmed that this is something I want to do.”
She credits her return to study to the support of EIT’s tutors.
“They really believe in their students. They had kept in touch and encouraged me to come back and finish what I had started.”
She says the hands-on, practical focus of EIT’s programme gave her the confidence and skills to succeed in an architectural workplace.
Outside of work, she has previously contributed her time to a charitable project designing homes for families in Fiji.
“I helped with design and quantities, figuring out what materials are needed and how we can get them there from New Zealand. While it was in my spare time, it was something I really cared about.”
Hannah says the diploma has opened the door to a wide range of career opportunities.
“It gives you a wide range of skills and can set you up for lots of different roles, not just drafting or design. You could go into project management, quantity surveying, construction admin, or become an architectural technician.”
