It is exciting to meet real-life superwomen dressed in cute clothes. Mrs. Paige Pickens Engel is a beautiful example of one. While chatting with Paige one day at work, she began to detail her yearning to venture into her own business. So, without knowing the details of her fieldwork, I went into go-do-it mode simply by her yearning and tenacity to leap. So, in true Jennifer form, I behaved like a moth-to-the fire to learn more of her story. A few months later, she crossed my path again, and this time she shared that she leaped, and I had to write about it!
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Paige Pickens Engel, AIA. Paige was born and raised in Tyler, TX. A true, East Texas beauty, and community servant leader. She serves in the Junior League of Tyler, and the City of Tyler’s Historic Preservation Board. She is a daughter, wife, friend, and ARCHITECT! She is a licensed Architect in Texas. She practices residential and commercial Architecture with a small firm based in her hometown. She began working in the architecture field in 2016, after completing her Master of Architecture degree at Texas A&M University.
While listening to her share her joy for what she does, I was astounded to learn more about the journey one must take to complete the educational requirements and her heart for the field. In a world of superficial talkers, it was wonderful to hear of someone connecting purpose to passion. She took the initial steps of completing those requirements by stepping out of the box in acquiring a four-year undergraduate degree in an unrelated field, Recreation, Parks, & Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University, which required her to complete a three-year graduate program to receive my Master of Architecture degree. Following the educational requirements, aspiring architects are required to fulfill experience hours working under a registered architect. The nearly 4,000 experience hours must be reported and certified by the architect that is responsible for overseeing the experience. Then finally, she educated me that an aspiring architect must pass six grueling registration exams within a specified time frame. The process is a marathon, not a sprint, with the average timeline for education through testing taking over nine years to complete. I was speechless! I find it interesting to find the journey of another connected to a vision.
Her plans are exciting, as she has recently opened Madhouse Design Studio! Her design firm is based in Tyler, TX. She practices both residential and commercial architecture in the state of Texas. She looks forward to growing her firm in the coming years as she grows personally and professionally through her experiences as an entrepreneur and female business owner in a largely male-dominated field.
Taking the step to open her practice was huge and she shares that it took a lot of consideration and thought before the leap of faith. She has found the experience to be rewarding and looks forward to finding new ways to pour new experiences into future female leaders, entrepreneurs, and business owners.
You can find more information about Paige and her firm at www.MadhouseDesignStudio.com or shoot her an email at pe@madhousestudio.
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