Being a woman will never be an excuse to limit oneself and defy gravity.
From a probinsyana to a competitive student in Manila, now someone looked up to by young aspirants, she became an inspiration to many architecture students – a pillar of knowledge and a model of success driven by perseverance and love for her career.
Architect Emilie Garcia’s life path wasn’t exactly the perfect path others would imagine successful people would have. Like most people living at the peak of their youth, she was unsure at first on what to take as her college course. “I was undecided with what course to take up. It was my father’s suggestion to try architecture. At one point in his life, he aspired to be an architect, but he eventually veered to education,” she said.
Driven by passion and commitment, Architect Garcia took one step at a time to success. Stepping into an unsure path for college, what was once her father’s dream became hers, and she learned how to love architecture as she dived into a world of long nights and short days.
“Before the 2nd semester of 1st year, I was offered a national scholarship, on condition that I had to shift to a science or math program which I eventually declined as I already began to enjoy the challenges of sleeping late doing plates while reviewing for the examinations of general education subjects as an Architecture student.”
Her story roots from her studying at the University of Santo Tomas and finishing each year as a constant dean’s lister and graduating cum laude in BS Architecture. Back then when she was just starting in the said course, it was a struggle for her to keep a balance in her major and minor subjects and her being grade-conscious just adds to it. Wanting to not disappoint her family and prove that someone who came from the rural areas can also be competitive with those who live in the urban area, she faced her struggles even while being intimidated by people around her as she was fairly new to the city.
“During the early years in college, I was a bit intimidated and felt out of place, being new in Manila, but eventually, I found friends from among my classmates and dorm mates. I also had difficulties balancing major and minor subjects as I was so grade conscious then.” She also added that her strategy was to start early with the requirements, avoiding cramming things to not end up with piled-up works not just from major subjects but also from minors as well.
Having to manage time is a must as she resided in a dorm run by nuns with curfew time, which means limited hours of work - no overnights for group projects, which is not exactly the common set-up architecture students would have, “As I was living in a female dormitory run by nuns, doing plates at night had also been a challenge. We had curfew time and were not allowed visitors, so extended-hour or overnight group works were not allowed. I needed to work within the set up that I had.”
Ar. Garcia took interest in what she can learn more about architecture, and with this in mind, she decided to work as an apprentice, even while studying. ”Apprenticeship was not part of the architecture curriculum then, but I had the initiative to do on-the-job training at the office of Ar. Engracio L. Mariano during my 3rd year summer break and was eventually offered a regular work at the same office. So, I was a working student during my 4th and 5th year.”
She’s an example of someone dedicated enough to sacrifice more time for real-life experiences and learnings she can earn from working at an office. “I never really needed work while studying, but I was more interested then with the learnings that would be gained as the office was already doing large scale projects. Three months after graduation, I took the licensure examination and passed.”
Now a professor in one of the top universities in the country, she continues to serve in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and even once became one of its faculty members in the Department of Architecture under the College of Engineering and Architecture (now known as College of Architecture, Design, and the Built Environment or CADBE). Even so, she didn’t stop yearning for more and took years of practicing more of her architectural skills and techniques. To add to that, she also took several units of Interior Design and came back to the department, and then eventually obtaining a Masters Degree in Construction Management at the PUP Open University System.
Architecture is a field known to be dominated by men, with statistics saying that only a small percent comprises women in the career. Gender inequality in work is not rare, and it exists inevitably in every aspect of our daily life. Even so, Architect Garcia was never fazed by this fact. In her 31 years of being a licensed architect, being a woman never once brought her down, as she should, and it only empowered her more, setting an example for women who want to lead someday in the architectural field.
“In my 31 years as a licensed architect, I have never felt challenged by the opposite gender whether in the office or on site. In fact, I feel that I give some sort of a balance and neutralize heated discussions on construction site meetings,” Ar. Garcia stated.
Never do too technical lessons for a woman to handle exist in the field of architecture, yet it always lies at the back of women’s minds who want to take up this course, unfortunately. As someone looked up to by her students in PUP, Ar. Garcia always encourages her students to keep up with everything, no matter how technical techniques or skills are. Empowerment lies in knowledge and expertise in something, and as told by her, respect is gained when one understands the nature of one’s doing. And being a woman will never hinder this.
“Women should realize that they have key roles in every organization at that they should use these roles to improve the working relationship among the members and be an instrument in coming up with solutions at any given circumstance,” she said, and then added, “In our profession, the more people realize that one is equipped with knowledge and understanding of what one is doing, the more respect is gained from clients, colleagues and subordinates.”
With the support of her husband, their architectural firm stands strong with pride as they continue to not just design buildings but also to instill inspiration for those who have been helped by their office. Starting from schools to residences to various infrastructures located nationwide, every client, every project was memorable, and of course, there will be projects that will truly stand out in her years of experience.
“We take pride having provided quality design and drawing outputs as attested by repeat clients and referrals from previous clients. We have clients who commissioned us to do 9 projects in succession from their residence, to residences of their children, to [a] vacation house, to commercial buildings and up to their mausoleum. But among the projects we had, the closest to my heart is the parish church renovation, as this is my way of giving back for all the blessings we have been receiving in our professional practice.”
Ar. Garcia is not only known in the college as one of its outstanding professors but also as the former chairperson in CADBE as she chose to withdraw from her position due to her health. Despite this, she continued to hold online classes, and nerve showed pain to any of her students. The flame of her passion for learning burns just as much as her dedication to teaching young aspirants everything that she was taught before and is always ready to serve and happy to help.
“I think it’s amazing how she continued to hold online classes during this past first semester. She never missed any of our classes, except kung holiday, and she gives feedback every single time kahit sa ibang mga class niya,” one of her students stated, and they also added how Ar. Garcia tried her very best to teach them.
Having once appointed as the chairperson of the college, her work helped her connect to the industry more and open up a way to understand more of the students’ side, “The position is more of a service to the department rather than a status. I felt more connected not only to the student body but also to the faculty members and our school officials. I became more engaged with other people outside of the University. So overall, it widened my perspective about the program, the profession and how we should continuously keep an open communication with the graduates, industry and other institutions for support and improvement among others.”
Ar. Garcia instills so much inspiration to her students, and her impact remains huge as she influences young dreamers to persevere and yearn for constant learning. The road to being an architect is not for the weak-hearted, but it’s a rollercoaster of enjoying things and pain from endless working on projects and struggling to meet deadlines. After five years of struggling in one of the hardest courses listed in the world, one might want to stop researching for more skills and techniques, and she suggests the opposite.
“The range of things we need to be knowledgeable about is so infinite that we need to keep on learning and improving ourselves. Students, even after graduation should keep themselves updated with the times, as architecture evolves. Do not be contented with what you know but continue discovering new things. Research, research, and research more.” She also added that stopping midway won’t do anything, “what you start, you have to finish.”
Of course, her success won’t be possible without people who have supported her from the start. Her framework won’t be completed without inspiration, and her dedication roots from her family, her burning passion from this profession roots from the people she is very grateful for.
“There are a lot of individuals with whom I should be grateful for. Let me start with my supportive parents and brother; my former boss, Ar. Engracio l. Mariano, who instilled in me the moral values in the architectural practice; my professors in college, Ar. Carlos Ventura, and Ar. Norma Alarcon, who taught and inspired me a lot; my husband, who has always been my mentor in the profession and my children with whom my efforts are intended for. It is by God’s grace, that individuals too many to mention had been instrumental in the realization of my aspirations all these years.”
Being a woman must never be a reason for one to limit oneself and defy gravity that holds her down in place, far from where she wants to fly to. Architect Emilie Garcia is a perfect example of an empowered woman who knows exactly her place in her life. Never fazed by gender inequality, she fought. She carried on and rose from the ground up to prove herself. From someone who came from the countryside to a big name in one of the top universities of the country, she’s now a role model to many architecture students, and it will continue to be that way for years.
Published in The Freehand's Vol. 5, second issue (January 2021 - March 2021)
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