I've been at MOA for nearly two decades — and the reason is pretty simple when I say it out loud: the people. Not in a generic way. I mean specific people who challenged my thinking, trusted me with hard work early, and had the integrity to disagree with me and be right. When you find that, you don't leave.

And over time, it became more than that. As Director of Design, I haven't just delivered projects — I've helped shape what MOA stands for. The standards we hold ourselves to, the kind of firm we are. Most places don't give you that kind of stake. This one did.

Almost twenty years also means relationships that compound. Clients on their third project with us. Buildings I've watched get loved and changed by the communities around them. You can't start those over — and honestly, I wouldn't want to.

What I think sets MOA apart is that culture isn't something we talk about at the holiday party — it's how we make decisions, how we hire, how we push back on a bad design direction. It doesn't sit next to the architecture. It produces it.

Part of that is being selective. We don't chase projects — we choose them. The best work comes from genuine alignment between what a client needs and what we care about. That filter is what keeps the culture intact.

And design has never been an afterthought here. It has a seat at the table from the very first conversation — not after the project is landed. That's something we've protected for years, and it shows up in everything we deliver.

The other thing I'll say is — look at our people. Designers who've been here ten, fifteen, twenty years. They stay because they're growing, not just executing. When you work with MOA, you get a team that knows each other deeply and has built real trust over time. That changes the quality of the work in ways that are hard to replicate.

Arrupe Jesuit High School is such a rewarding project. The clients were the most fun to work for.  And their openness to collaborate, explore ideas and trust our process the project has turned out amazing. It was so fun to see kids experience the new spaces for the first time. You could see how proud they are of their school.