AIA CV launches a new program!
This month, mid-career professionals from our Chapter met in a daylit gallery at Jbird Supply Coffee Roaster in Studio IX to kick-off our newest program, the ‘Mid-Career Professionals’ group. This ‘pilot program’ builds on the work of the AIA Virginia Mid-Career Taskforce and Mid-Career Roundtables, to give members a venue to discuss the joys and challenges of balancing work and life in one of its most demanding seasons. Our goal is to build a thriving community for Mid-Career members and try out different meeting formats to help inform program development at AIA Virginia.
The group’s far-reaching and engaging conversation about our paths in the profession, successes and challenges, and what a group like this can provide yielded a number of themes and take-aways we’ll explore in our next few meetings:
Comparison is the thief of joy - especially if you’re always ‘looking up’.
Who can you look to for advice, or a model - especially when you’re unfulfilled, overwhelmed, or stuck?
There are many paths to a good destination - but we have fewer choices ahead than behind.
How do you get ‘back in the game’ if you’ve been in ‘the safe lane’?
Community is what you make it!
After we met, almost half the attendees emailed me with ideas for future meetings and excitement about the possibilities of the group. It’s also encouraging that this group wants to keep ‘finding and celebrating joy’ at the center of our work together. I couldn’t agree more!
Thanks to all who attended, especially Allied Member Jeremy Boynton with Lighting Virginia, who donated the space!
-SHAWN MULLIGAN, AIA
AIA Central Virginia Mid-Career Professionals meet bi-monthly to learn from each other and local experts about the best ways to grow and thrive - in life and work. If you, or someone you know, wants to get involved, contact Shawn at: shawn@designclarity.co.