Marketing Letter 2010

My name is Danielle Gustafson. I am currently in my third year of schooling

in the Landscape Architecture program at North Dakota State University in
Fargo, ND. In 2012, I will graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape
Architecture and plan on furthering my education in horticulture to assist in
my ability to produce efficient and aesthetically pleasing designs. In my two
and a half years of schooling I have learned how to produce more efficient
and “Green-friendly” designs, while still maintaining structural soundness
and personal touch.

HOW I BECAME INTERESTED IN LANDSCAPE ARCHTECTURE

Stretching back to Junior High School, in Crosby-Ironton, MN, I remember

looking at front yards, vacant lots, and commercial expansion through what I
know now are the eyes of a designer. Initially, the experience that lead me to
Landscape Architecture happened the summer after 9th grade while driving
through Brainerd, MN with my father. I remember going past the site of the
new Applebee’s and telling my father, “Why wouldn’t they put it a block
north, next to the woods, and create an outdoor scene with maybe a
waterfall or stream meandering through it for a patio area? Wouldn’t that
attract more people?” Ironically we had just been talking about my future
and trying to decide on what I’d like to go to college for. My father then
turned, looked at me, and said, “You should look into Landscape
Architecture. You definitely have a mind for it.” From then on I knew I wanted
to go into a design field. Being I was only going into 10th grade at the time, I
kept my mind open. I took Drafting and Design classes I and II, which
expanded my knowledge and abilities with both hand drafting/drawing and
the computer program AutoCAD. I also took multiple art classes to
strengthen my sketching and rendering skills. From here, my decisions were
narrowed down to Architecture and Landscape Architecture. Due to my love
for the outdoors and the aesthetically pleasing landscapes I had
experienced, my decision was clear, I wanted to become a Landscape
Architect.

BEGINNING THE ENLIGHTENING JOURNEY

In the fall of 2008, a year after entering the college of Engineering and
Architecture at North Dakota State University, I crossed the threshold into the

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Landscape Architecture program under the competitive selective
admissions policy. Since then, I have furthered my knowledge and abilities
in both hand drawings/renderings and computer programs. Some of the
computer programs I have learned and expanded my knowledge on are:

• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

• Adobe Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.)
• Google SketchUp
• Autodesk (AutoCAD Civil 3D, VIZ, etc.)

One of the foremost entities of Landscape Architecture I have learned is that

of collaboration. Working together is essential to learn during schooling as
that is the key skill a Landscape Architect today is expected to perform. In
firms, such as RemWhirl, which I have worked for this last summer and am
expected back at this summer, collaborating with people of other areas of
expertise is required. Being able to work well with others eases deadlines
when it comes to trying to finish a project within the time constraints.

Throughout my schooling, I have designed for communities, cities, and

residential areas. I have done projects individually as well as in groups.
Some of our projects have involved traveling and designing especially for
that site. One of such projects was located in the Wolseley Neighborhood in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. In this project our challenge was to create
connecting parks and greenways along the Assiniboine River to help imply
connections to the Forks in Winnipeg for winter and summer, connect with
the world’s longest ice rink, and to try to tie the historic neighborhood
together by providing areas and activities for the community to become
involved in. In order to do this we each created Google SketchUp models of
our sites and developed our designs on them. We used both a combination
of these models and hand drawings/renderings to present our designs.
Another project we have traveled for was in Regent, ND to come up with
ideas and designs to help revitalize their town. Combinations of computer
programs were used along with hand drawings to create innovative designs
and make them realistically installable. Creating construction documents
was a must for this project along with details as some of these projects are
to be installed and need specific measurements and such for engineers and
contractors. I have also done designs for downtown Fargo, ND to promote
revitalization. For this project we used Autodesk VIZ to create a walk through
video rendering of the designed site. I’m continuing to further my skills by

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hand and computer in my schooling every day to help express my
innovative and efficient designs.

DOWN THE PATH

After receiving my Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture and an

Associate’s in Applied Science Horticulture degree, I plan on beginning my
career in residential and commercial landscaping. The scenic area of my
hometown, around Brainerd, MN, influences my designs to relax and calm
those who enter the thresholds created.

My summers left until my graduation in the spring of 2012 will be spent in

internships with RemWhirl, located in Crosslake, MN, and with other various
firms in order to become certified as a licensed Landscape Architect.

From this letter I would like to create opportunities for internships and
careers with residential and urban design firms. I hope that by reading this
letter you will find my variety of skills very desirable.

I’m excited to broaden my horizons and add new knowledge to my list of

skills and experiences. Landscape Architecture is an ever expanding field of
new and innovating ideas that continue to lead us forward in eco-friendly
and efficient designs today.

Sincerely,

Danielle Gustafson