My name is Kelly Cummings. I am an introverted extrovert, whose socks rarely match and has a strong dislike of pickles. I am a boomerang Pittsburgher, who grew up in the North Hills but has daringly crossed bridges and rivers to live just south of the city.
When I was growing up, I never considered myself a creative person. Then I discovered drafting; I learned what a T-Square was in 8th grade and never looked back. It opened up new doors for me to self-discovery and creativity. I took every Technology Education class I could, learning about space planning, building models, and racing paper cars. Being one of the only girls in these classes, my Technology Education teachers truly inspired me to pursue my passions.
I enjoyed my time at Kent State University (Kent) studying interior design and architecture, however, something was missing. During my time studying abroad in Italy, my professor had pulled me aside and asked, “What do you want to do with your career?” At the time, I had given no thought to being anything other than an interior designer. “You should consider a job in communications and marketing, “he said. That is when I had my “aha!” moment. Everything clicked; my career path vision was too narrow, and I didn’t even realize it. His comment opened up a whole new world of possibilities and directions.
From there, I took a hold of every opportunity that came my way. I wrote my honors thesis at Kent on nonverbal communication and first impressions. It took a year to complete the writing and research; I had never written a 97-page research document before. After graduating from Kent, I then went to graduate school at Duquesne University for communication studies. I was a research assistant in philosophy, reading and editing professors’ publications; I still have no clue what most of them said. I took a job at Simple Sugars, a company with all-natural skincare products, which was on Shark Tank and received an investment from Mark Cuban. I began there scooping scrubs into jars when I pitched to them that I could help with graphic design. I designed multiple marketing materials for them, including their product and packaging design which has been in stores all over the world; I had never designed packaging before. I also took an internship at Mind Over Media, a web design and development company. During my time there, they let their only designer go. I had to design the majority of pages for Clarion University’s website; I had never designed a website before.
I seized every opportunity that came my way while I was in grad school; the majority of time figuring it out as I went along. I had hoped that all these experiences would eventually lead me to my future career path. It all came together when I discovered that marketing jobs existed within the A/E/C industry. In school we learned about design, but we never learned about how a firm is run and actually wins work. It doesn’t just magically pop into your lap. It requires strategic marketing, communication and business development.
I have now been in Marketing, Graphic Design and Business Development in the architecture industry for the past 6 years, getting my start at HOK in Washington, DC. I moved back to Pittsburgh to work at IKM, where I completed their rebrand including logo design; I had never rebranded a company before.
After IKM, I worked at Strada where they helped me discover my strengths in strategy & storytelling. They empowered me to use those skills on project teams working with clients. I am now the Manager of Business Development & Strategic Marketing at R3A Architecture, whose vision is to become the catalyst that stimulates progressive change within clients’ organizations. I started a few weeks ago in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rather different time to be starting a new job. However, all my blind jumps of faith and risks I had taken have now aligned, helping me bridge the world of architecture, graphic design and marketing. I am thoroughly enjoying my new job and the ability to get to use all of my skillsets to have a positive impact at R3A.
For those who are still trying to determine their path in their own career:
- Surround yourself with people who believe in you, who see your potential. These people will help you learn and grow quicker than you imagined.
- Keep an open mind, pursue all interests and never stop learning. Every new project I have completed or topic I have learned about has taught me more about who I am. I have learned many lessons that I have applied not only to my job but also to daily life.
- Find your passion. If you are doing something you are passionate about, you will be happier and more successful. We spend most of our time at our jobs so find a job you love doing.
- Rarely does your first job aligns with all of your passions; each job experience is a stepping stone that teaches you more about who you are and what you want. By choosing to learn and grow from these experiences you can discover the career path that’s for you.
Written by Kelly Cummings
Kelly Cummings
Manager of Business Development & Strategic Marketing
at R3A Architecture