15 Interns Spend the Summer with OPN
We are excited to welcome this talented group to OPN for the summer. They offer us fresh perspectives and we will endeavor to repay them similarly. Welcome to OPN …
Hannah Newhouse
Cedar Rapids Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Iowa State University
Degree and graduation year? Bachelor of Architecture, 2024
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? A multi-family project in New York City
Where are you originally from? Cedar Rapids, Iowa
What do you like about your industry? The constant innovation and evolution of sustainable techniques.
What inspires your design? The natural environment and surrounding landscape.
If there was a movie about your life, who would star as you? Reese Witherspoon
Haven Henningsen
Cedar Rapids Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Iowa State University
Degree and graduation year? Bachelor of Architecture (2023)
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? Recently completed an urban transformation project of the San Lorenzo neighborhood in Rome.
Where are you originally from? Cedar Rapids, Iowa
What do you like about your industry? The exploration of materials and our understanding of their capabilities.
What inspires your work? The things that inspire me to create or think about architecture the most are generally influenced by modern and contemporary art, but also through everyday objects that could be manipulated proportionally and/or constructively.
What are you reading right now? “Medium Design: Knowing How to Work on the World” by Keller Easterling
Pooja Agarwal
Cedar Rapids Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Iowa State University
Where are you originally from? India
Degree and graduation year? Pursuing MArch at ISU, completed undergraduate from Amity University India in 2021
What do you like about your industry? Rendering and digital representation to best convey the user experience
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? B.Arch thesis was on a stadium & sports complex, experience in designing a railway station during my job at ARINEM Consultancy Services in India.
What inspires your work? Nature and travel
Emily Greathouse
Cedar Rapids Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Iowa State University
Degree and graduation year? Interior Design, 2024
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? Sophomore year, the Aging in Place project. My group was selected to travel to Charles City to present our final project and meet our client, Mary. We discovered ways for Mary to properly live in her home while balancing everyday struggles of getting older.
Where are you originally from? North Liberty, Iowa
What do you like about your industry? My drive to work in this industry stems from a passion for creating impactful environments that enhance people’s experiences.
What inspires your design? My peers in studio as well as my instructors spark my creativity!
One fun fact? I have visited almost all 50 states!
Gabriella Saholt
Des Moines Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Iowa State University
Degree and graduation year? Bachelor of Architecture (2025)
One fun fact? Outside of architecture, I have passions in graphic design, film photography, and fashion!
Where are you originally from? Lakeville, Minnesota
What do you like about your industry? Something I enjoy about architecture is how it sits at the intersection between art and tangible, built experiences.
What inspires your design? Inspiration for design often comes from surrounding context and rigorous iteration. The design process sometimes begins by defining and framing the context and iterating from there.
What are you reading right now? Thermal Delight in Architecture by Lisa Heschong
Emily Kloostra
Des Moines Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? University of Arkansas
Degree and graduation year? Bachelor of Architecture, 2025
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? I have been working in the woodshop for the past 2.5 years and as a Teaching Assistant in the Structures courses for the past 1.5 years.
Where are you originally from? Edwardsville, Illinois
What do you like about your industry? I really enjoy the opportunity to combine my love of engineering/math with my artistic side.
What inspires your design? I like to look for the little things that make that site special – often the design can become a nice nod to the unique aspects of the place it is situated in.
One fun fact? I show Columbia sheep every year at the Iowa State Fair
Aditi Gang
Des Moines Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Iowa State University
Degree and graduation year? Master in Architecture, 2024
Where are you originally from? India
What do you like about your industry? Use of creativity and one gets to see projects through from beginning to end
What inspires your design? People
If there was a movie about your life, who would star as you? Anne Hathaway
Samuel (Sam) Wilson Hoff
Des Moines Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? University of Iowa
Degree and graduation year? 3D design with a minor in Cinema, 2024
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? Research assistant at the University of Iowa
Where are you originally from? Des Moines, Iowa
What do you like about your industry? Critique and continual growth
What inspires your design? Objects and forms I enjoyed while growing up
If there was a movie about your life, who would star as you? Young Paul McCartney
Kyle Guenther
Cedar Rapids Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Iowa State University
Degree and graduation year? Bachelor of Architecture, 2024
One fun fact? I just spent an amazing semester living in Rome!
Where are you originally from? Bellevue, Iowa
What do you like about your industry? I enjoy seeing the impact that design has on communities big and small, and I look forward to being a part of that change.
What inspires your design? The environment around us, where there’s intersections between the beauty of everyday life and the world we share.
What are you reading right now? “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by Jane Jacobs
Sofia Licea
Cedar Rapids Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Kirkwood Community College
Degree and graduation year? Architectural Technology, 2023
Where are you originally from? Querétaro, Mexico
What do you like about your industry? I like how creative you can get and how artistic architecture can be.
What inspires your design? Nature, and modern culture
One fun fact? I have a long haired chihuahua
If there was a movie about your life, who would star as you? Jennifer Lawrence
Isabella (Izzy) Cosentino
Madison Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? UW-Milwaukee, and attending UC Berkeley in fall
Degree and graduation year? BSAS, May 2023
Where are you originally from? Menomonee Falls, WI
What do you like about your industry? That it is a mix of many different disciplines
What inspires your design? The rapidly changing environment and necessity for accessibility of all types
One fun fact? I have a scuba diving license
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? Environmental justice projects, Research on human-centered architecture
Alycia (Aly) Timmerman
Des Moines Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Degree and graduation year? BS of Architecture, May 2023
One fun fact? I have two heelers, Moose and Remington
Where are you originally from? Beaver Crossing, NE
What do you like about your industry? The ability to design for people and change the way they live
What inspires your design? Changing people’s lives and the community for the better
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? Honors senior project: Architecture and New Urbanism’s Relationship to Biomimicry and Floral Design
Samruddhi (Sam) Shirdhankar
Iowa City Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from?University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
Degree and graduation year? Masters of Architecture, 2024
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? Worked for 2years in India on multiple projects. Have some experience of working on fabrication projects.
Where are you originally from? Mumbai, India
What do you like about your industry? The opportunities we as architects have to bring about a change by coming up with something creative and which helps the society
What inspires your design? Functionality inspires my design a lot. As I believe, we should come up with interesting designs but always try to make each and every aspect of it functional to make the most out of it
One fun fact? I love exploring new cuisines and music
Samita (Kwan) Asadathorn
Cedar Rapids Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Cornell University
Degree and graduation year? Bachelor of Architecture, 2024
Past experience/notable projects/senior thesis? Interior design internship at DT Design; architecture internship at Vaslab; architecture internship at Innovative Design and Architecture
Where are you originally from? Bangkok, Thailand
What do you like about your industry? I like how it combines creativity with practicality
What inspires your work? The context of the site; the culture, the landscape, the history
If there was a movie about your life, who would star as you? Urassaya Sperbund
Peter Jaynes
Des Moines Studio
What school are you attending/did you graduate from? Iowa State University
Where are you originally from? Ames, Iowa
Degree and graduation year? Bachelors in architecture with a minor in digital media, graduating in 2024.
What do you like about your industry? The future of sustainable materials and the application of new technologies in the profession is really exciting.
One fun fact? I’ve played tuba for 12 years.
What inspires your work? Providing a breath of fresh air by introducing new and creative solutions to problems.
If there was a movie about your life, who would star as you? Chris Hemsworth