Journey Letter #1 – From Landscape Architecture to Conservation

Dear beloved friends and supporters, as we have followed each other over the past few years, you may have noticed a change in my career focus. You no longer see me on the construction sites checking the thickness of concrete walls; our talks about design details, materials, or architectural standards have been reduced significantly. Instead, your feeds have been flooded by my posts about researching and saving nature and species. My definition of “deadline” changed from “When will we finish waterproofing zone A?” to “When will be the last time we can admire this forest if we don’t take action now?“.

I have added the title of a “conservationist” to my bio!

It was not a sharp turn

Going in this direction was not a sharp turn on my journey, as I have always cared about protecting natural resources. In fact, it was the original purpose when I first started my undergrad in landscape design. I grew up in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam where it used to be a rich and beautiful resource that we called the Golden Forest (“rừng vàng biển bạc”). Over time, due to the pressure of development, urban sprawl, with the combination of climate change, the forest that covered my way to school vanished. No more fun summer games in the woods, not that many birds chirping in the backyard, and I have not seen a wild turtle for quite a long time.

I wanted to make a difference. I earned an engineering degree in Landscape Design and was a senior designer in my team when I left to pursue my next stage. It was such an interesting experience trying to make our architectural projects sustainable and foster biodiversity. Buildings were no longer concrete blocks but joyful places for both humans and wildlife to thrive and be healthy. However, there was a calling in me that it was not enough. I did not just want to address the problem as post-damaged restoration; I wanted to have things developed in the right way at the pre-decision stage, and that desire shifted my career to environmental conservation.

Senior back to an entry-level position?

I believe anybody who decides to move from a stable, well-paid senior position back to the entry-level of another pathway would face great anxiety. And I am not an exception. Moving from the industry to the academic world, trying to bridge my engineering skills with research skills, and sealing deals not with payments, but with statistically significant results. The math is not easy…

…but it is do-able. My current situation is still challenging, the job market is not great, but if I could go back in time, I guess I would still choose it. I would still go study abroad, meet new people, have meaningful connections, and pick up bricks one by one to build up my foundation, just like I did many years ago. Yes! I remembered I was not a senior designer right out of high school. I did spend years in undergrad, and then years of working, starting at an intern position. It was not a miracle, and neither this time.

Goals in life as a life jacket during a storm

I spent a great amount of time wondering which way I can go and stay alive during this thunder period in life, particularly in the last few months. Difficulties and emotional waves almost drowned me sometimes, and then I forgot my targets. “Why am I doing this?” I asked this every day. But IT WAS NOT A SHARP TURN! I came to where I am for a reason.

Today, more than ever, I was reminded of my original goal: to have more birds in our backyard, to spot wild turtles with my father, and to still be able to play summer games with the neighbor kids! Then I realized, I am now more capable of doing that than I was before I started this journey. Things are moving, I just could not see clearly. I am actually on the right track and still going on.

It will not be any easier, but I regain the strength to put on my backpack. Through rivers and mountains, I shall go!