Stevens Spotlight: Jana Belack '06
Since grade school, Jana Belack, '06, knew she wanted to be an architect, designing and drawing houses. Today she’s an Architectural Designer on her way becoming licensed.
Originally from Gratz, Pa., Jana's journey was different. It wasn’t an immediate decision for her to attend Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. After graduating from high school, she attended the Art Institute in Philadelphia where she explored different areas of design. It wasn’t until a year later that she decided to focus on architecture and enrolled in Stevens. She says it was the program's practical education, the exposure of various trades and the affordability.
“Attending Stevens would not only teach me about design and construction documentation, but I would also be exposed to the trades responsible for constructing the building," she says. "This well-rounded wealth of knowledge made me very marketable in the profession and helped me to quickly become an asset to any future employer.”
Of her two years at Thaddeus Stevens, she says the most memorable experience actually took place in another country, when she accompanied a group of Stevens students on a trip to Italy during Spring Break.
"Stevens allowed me the opportunity to make a lot of friends and have many memorable interactions with students of all trades," she remembers. "In fact, my best friend, Shrek (Ian Mactavish), was in Masonry, a completely different major.”
Although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. When asked if she has any advice for young women looking to pursue a career in a typically male dominated field, Jana reminisced to a time when she received a tote bag with the following quote: "Sometimes the right man for the job may be a woman." She has the bag to this day and says it is very true.
"Have confidence in what you know, but admit when you do not know the answer," she advises young women. "There will be times that male colleagues doubt you or overlook you strictly because of gender, whether it be in your own office or out on the job site. Learn as much as you can and never stop learning because what really matters is knowing how to do the job well. Once your peers discover you have just as much if not more knowledge than they do and you aren’t afraid to speak up to share your opinion or ask questions, you will overcome the gender bias.”
After graduating from Thaddeus Stevens in 2006, Jana landed her first job at McKissick Associates Architects in Harrisburg. There, she realized she wanted to earn her license in architecture and become certified. With guidance from Jim Hamrick, second-year Architecture instructor, Jana ultimately decided to continue her education and attended Boston Architectural College.
“My degree from Stevens, along with my brief work experience at McKissick Associates, was extremely valuable in helping me to find employment in an architectural firm in Boston," she says. "It is very competitive here, and I found a job before I even relocated.”
She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Sustainable Design from Boston Architectural College in 2010 and then earned a Masters of Architecture Degree in May of 2016.
Today Jana is employed with Elkus Manfredi Architects as an Architectural Designer and is only two tests away from being a licensed architect. Jana is interested in carceral design, which is intensified with her master's thesis entitled, "A Women's Prison: Communities for Incarceration." She’s continuing her passion project through comparative analysis of prisons around the world. She was also named a Boston Architectural College 2017 John Worthington Ames Scholar.
You can visit her website at designandpunishment.com to follow Jana and her journey.
Jana's advice to those who don't know what they want to do yet in life or still trying to figure things out:
“If you don’t know what you want to do for your career when you are 17-18 years old – that is OK! Take some time exploring new things, find what you truly enjoy doing. You don’t have to go to college right away after high school. Also, never be afraid to change careers – at any age. If you choose a career now, that does not mean it has to be what you do for the rest of your life – there is always time to change. Nothing is permanent when it comes to your career. Never stop learning, always stay relevant. The more well-rounded your knowledge is – the more valuable you are as an employee.”
When she’s not an architect during the day, Jana likes to garden, read, paint, kayak/hike, renovate her home, travel, refinish/repurpose furniture, tutor college students in architecture and research prisons around the world to make the prisons in the United States better.
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