An architect shares her unconventional path to licensure

In 2023, AIA advocated for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) to eliminate the “rolling clock” for architectural licensure. Data indicated that the rolling clock policy was a potential impediment to licensure, with disproportionate effects on women and people from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

To celebrate two years since Stop the Clock, we’re chatting with licensed architects whose path to licensure was impacted by the five-year rolling clock. 

Everyone’s path to licensure looks different, and every licensure success is worth celebrating. 

Christiana Copper, AIA, is an architect from Pennsylvania. While she was pursuing licensure, her husband became severely ill with C. diff, and she lost her job at an architecture firm. She and her husband moved in with his family, and Copper took on a second job to afford her exams. “If I hadn’t continued, I would have risked losing my progress,” she says.

Read on to learn more about Copper’s career, her licensure process, and why she advocated for the elimination of the rolling clock. 

How long did it take you to complete the licensure process? 

About four years. I graduated with my master’s in architecture in the spring of 2015 and became licensed in 2019. 

What advice would you give to another aspiring architect who is going through the licensure process? 

 I would say be very patient with yourself. I feel that we tend to have very high expectations of ourselves; I know I did. Not that I ever thought the exams were easy, but I think I imagined a much smoother process for myself than what reality held for me at the time.

So, if I were to talk to someone going through the licensure process right now, I would say to give yourself a lot of grace, learn from failure, and learn from your successes. This feels very cliché, but you pursue [licensure] as a marathon, not a sprint.

That, I think, really ties into the whole concept of the rolling clock. I remember feeling so pressured to try to finish within that timeframe, despite all the challenges.

I feel like without that pressure, you can approach it as more of a marathon, and with more focus on your professional growth. 

Can you tell me more about your career path, both before and after licensure?

I had a very unconventional path, but I think it made me a much more well-rounded professional. At the beginning of my [licensure process], I was working in a traditional firm. I ended up moving to a structural steel manufacturing company, where I worked for four years and completed the majority of my AXP and testing journey under the supervision of a structural engineer, which I think is fairly uncommon. But it was a very rewarding experience, and I feel like I was able to gain perspective that architects don’t often see because I was working much more often with the GCs or their representatives, and I was going on site much more often than I would have otherwise and seeing conditions in the field.

I was also drawing details and seeing details from a perspective that the architect doesn’t necessarily get. [Seeing the plan] go to the subcontractor to actually fabricate was very rewarding. And then from there, I worked for two years as a project manager at a reinforcing steel manufacturing company. This happened during [the COVID-19 pandemic]. So, I did get some experience working for a small woman-owned business at the time.

I eventually left manufacturing in 2022, and I worked for a government contractor in their facility department. I would describe my role as an owner’s representative for various projects. 

Are you from Pennsylvania originally?

I was born in Ohio, but I’ve spent most of my life living in Pennsylvania. I did go to Kent State University in Ohio for my undergrad and my grad degrees in architecture. 

What made you pursue architecture in the first place? What really grabbed your interest? 

I think a lot of us come at [architecture] from having an interest in art, and maybe the practical side of art.

I was fortunate to have a really wonderful art teacher when I was growing up. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to practice art, and then eventually that interest expanded when I was looking at colleges. I happened to go on a tour and see an architecture studio, and it felt like the place I was supposed to be. That was the moment that really formed my interest: the first time I walked into an architecture studio.

Now that you're licensed, how do you feel that licensure will support your future career goals? 

I think that having your license gives you a level of credibility that people both in the field and outside the field recognize in value. It really demonstrates your expertise in a way that goes beyond just having so many years of experience. I think it shows a level of commitment to the field, to take that extra step to complete your studies and take the exams and have your supervised hours and really go through that process.

It shows a level of devotion to the field that is important. It helped me, personally, in my [more] offbeat career path. That recognition was there when I was in manufacturing, and now that I work in government contracting, in a more facilities-oriented role, that expertise and commitment was recognized, and it feels like that’s how it helps you. 

Any final thoughts? 

I think that retiring the rolling clock acknowledges that becoming an architect isn’t a straight line. It honors persistence, resilience and the reality of life challenges, and I believe that it makes our profession stronger, more inclusive, and more humane. 

Katherine Flynn is director, digital content at AIA.