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KN: So you've traveled to different places, and in part because of your job. So can you describe, so here you are going to University of Hawaii, and why did you become an architect?

MY: I guess I wasn't smart enough to be an engineer, and I wasn't free spirit enough to be an artist. I was a so-called, I felt like I was an artist in school, I would do the murals and design our senior prom program or whatever. But I couldn't picture myself being an artist. You know, those days, the hippie days, you've got to grow long hair and beard and all that. And there's no architects on Kauai, but I just happened to ask the counselor, "What's an architect?" and he said, "Oh, draw houses," or something. So I said, "Oh, that should be fun." So I tried it, and that's the best thing I did. To this day, I'm very glad I became an architect. It's fun.

KN: What do you love about your profession? What is the best part about it for you? When you say you love it, is it visualization, it's just imagining and creating that kind of vision that you have? If someone said to you, "Why should I become an architect?" and you had to sell them on the profession, what do you love about being an architect?

MY: Helping people fulfill their dream house. The fun part, I would say, makes you travel, you can travel a lot. I mean, which you're supposed to, to learn. I've been fortunate enough to have my clients take me to Dubai, Europe, it's all paid for... to riding the yacht. And traveled to, you mean the remote parts of the (world) doing military projects. I've been to Diego Garcia, a small little island off India and Africa where you can walk from one end to the other end in one day. But anyway, travel opportunities, creative, think creative, and well, the bottom line is you're helping people fulfill their dreams. And I get to be my own architect for my own house.

KN: So can you describe how you went from young architect to an established professional right now? Was it an easy path, did riches come quick and easy? I mean, I hear, I have an uncle who is an architect, and he said, "You do it for the love." And a lot of people have this misconception that you start off very wealthy, you work your way through the profession, you develop these skills. Is that true, can you describe how you grew in your profession?

MY: I guess you just have to, like your uncle said, love your work. And that's the advice I would give to young kids, I gave to my son and my daughter. Get into something that you just enjoy doing for free, and if somebody starts paying you because you're good at it, it's double the pleasure. It's twice the fun when you get well-paid, but (at) start off, nobody pays you because you're not good (vet), right? So for me, I feel like, number one, I enjoyed doing it.

KN: So how did you start your own firm? Was it something that you always dreamed of being your own boss or how did that come about?

MY: You know, I never thought of being my own boss. I just felt like I would be a valuable right hand man to my boss who was an architect. And this person, Thomas Wells, and Norman Lacayo, my mentors and my bosses. Anyway, like Tom Wells, when he moved to the mainland, to Aspen, he wanted me to go over. But then I just got married and I just loved to live in Hawaii. So he gave me a job that he needed to complete in Hawaii. So I thought I'd just finish that job and then work for another architect. But then once I did this house for this attorney and it turned out nice, somebody else came to see me, and then another commercial job, and it slowly just grew. And, of course, you grow, I mean, you climb up and then, boom, there's down because of economy situation. And then you climb up again and then down. But each time when you come down, you bounce up higher. So right now in this stage of life, in my professional career, I feel comfortable, and I would encourage people to go into architecture. And in our office we always have students, and we try to mentor them or they can see what we do, and if they like it, they can stay. If they don't like it, they can become a neurosurgeon and get to the next level, be a doctor. But architecture is fun. Basically it's fun.

<End Segment 7> - Copyright &copy; 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.