It sounds like a big change, coming to Los Angeles and UCLA from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Coe College, a liberal arts college of 1,400 students. But Wangeci Joanne Karuri was used to major adjustments. When she went to Coe College as a freshman just a few years ago, it was her first trip to the United States from her hometown of Nairobi, Kenya.

It took a little time for Geci (pronounced GEH-shee) to get used to Cedar Rapids after life in the big African city. "I think the Midwest is kind of unique in the way people think," she says now. But the people of Coe College have always encouraged international students to come--foreign students make up as much as 10% of the student body. Soon Geci found her new home to be a "nice and cozy environment." So at the end of four years there, considering a move to Los Angeles was a bit daunting. "I was quite afraid of going to a big school--Coe had done that to me," Geci said. But her communications with the department, especially graduate adviser Larry Nadeau, soon convinced her that the School of Architecture and Urban Design would have some of the same sense of community and a "strong focus on the individual."

Along with its international reputation, the diversity of UCLA and the School of Architecture were among its attractions. "I was afraid of leaving Coe, of leaving the diversity I'd gotten used to there. I didn't want to go someplace where I suddenly felt like a foreigner." That didn't happen at UCLA, where there was only one American among the four faculty members who supervised the first-year studio in the first quarter--the others are Swiss, French, and German. And "walking around in Westwood, I hear all kinds of accents. I don't feel like I'm in the United States, I feel like I'm in the world."

Its setting in Los Angeles was one of UCLA's major attractions for an aspiring architect. In architecture, Geci said, "You learn almost as much from the city as you do from the school. Los Angeles is really rich in that sense. There's some great architecture, some great architects," she said, as well as an "architecturally conscious community."

And finally, of course, there was the weather, which had much more in common with Nairobi's climate than Cedar Rapids had.

Geci became interested in architecture at the movies. One of the characters in "Backstab" was an architect who loved his work, and Geci thought, "I wouldn't mind loving what I do so much that I can be really content just doing it." She confirmed her interest by talking to architects, both at home in Nairobi and in Cedar Rapids.

At Coe, Geci decided to pursue a liberal arts program of subjects that interested her: computer science, sociology, and art and design. "It turned out to be a great idea," she said. Through art and design she developed her aesthetic sense, and computer science made her comfortable with the computer applications that are now becoming commonplace in architecture. At UCLA, for example, students have been "building pieces of LA" on the computer and have even reconstructed the Roman Forum. Her computer expertise allows Geci to have a small hand in such projects.

But she's most enthusiastic about the link between sociology and architecture. "Architecture is about creating buildings or spaces that people can use," Geci explained. "Other than, of course, understanding how structures work and making sure the building won't collapse, there is a need to understand how people relate and how people interact with space." Although she has far to go in developing the technical expertise of her profession, Geci feels she has "a good understanding of how to relate what I'm doing to people."

After she graduates, she plans to return to Nairobi, where "you can walk from one street to the next and think you're in a different world," so unrelated are the old and new towns. Still, Geci finds it a comfortable place to be, perhaps because the high water table has put a lid on how high buildings can rise. Third World countries tend to put too much emphasis on "pure function" in architecture, Geci thinks. She hopes to contribute "ways to think about architecture that functions but that also has something to do with people and with aesthetics."

One of her special interests is low-income housing. Sociologists and architects often bring divergent goals and ideas to such projects, and Geci's special background may help her bridge those differences. Although she is open to all kinds of work, she imagines "a greater test of my skill and my sensitivity to be able to create projects for low-income families."

Of course, she must first complete the three years of study required for her master's degree. Everyone has told her that the first year is the hardest, and Geci hopes so. She regrets that the long hours first semester left her little time to explore Los Angeles or the cultural richness right on campus.

Harder than adjusting to the different city and university has been the change in discipline. Some students come to the School of Architecture with undergraduate preparation in the field. Others, like Geci, take an intensive summer studio and then just dive in. Where she felt expert in sociology and computer science, holding jobs in the latter field, she's struggling now with unfamiliar concepts and ways of thinking. "I feel like I've gone from being a grown up to being a baby again," Geci said.

Although making mistakes can be a blow to the ego--and hearing the mistakes described in front of others can be disheartening--Geci recognizes that there's much to learn from such experiences. "I'm struggling, and I think that's where they want us to be," she said, but she has no regrets about her decision. "I'm loving the department--excellent faculty, excellent students. I'm very happy with the school. I'm very happy with the move."

Published in Winter 1997, Graduate Quarterly