Rachel Ware is a graduate student in Gibbs College’s Master of Landscape Architecture program (Class of 2018). Recently, we had the opportunity to hear about some of Rachel’s favorite experiences as a student in Gibbs College.
How have you made the most of your time as a student in the Landscape Architecture program at Gibbs College?
My experiences as a landscape architecture graduate student in the College of Architecture have been diverse, innovative, and rewarding. The college provides opportunities to collaborate with others and facilitates student success through the many resources available. I have been a part of multi-disciplinary design competitions occurring in Tulsa and Muskogee, and have traveled to Denver, Colorado as part of the OU Landscape Architecture team that won the Come Alive Outside Design Competition. I also contributed to the OKC Memorial Marathon Topographic Model, designed and fabricated in the College’s Creating-Making Lab, which has won a Central States ASLA Award and has been short-listed for a World Landscape Architecture award.
My most valued experience has been as a Graduate Research Assistant for the OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC). The IQC partners with Oklahoma communities to address their challenges and to collaborate on creative design solutions and placemaking strategies, like our project in Muskogee, Oklahoma. My involvement in the College has prepared me to apply my skills beyond the classroom. Last summer, I acquired an internship in Richmond, Virginia, and I look forward to this summer’s opportunity as a Planning and Sustainability Intern in Seattle, Washington. I deeply appreciate the College of Architecture’s commitment to student success.
Construction Industry Speaker Series welcomed Stephen Evans from the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum to give a lecture on better conversations and relationship building.
The University of Oklahoma Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Hall of Fame recognizes a select number of high-character individuals who have made a significant and lasting positive impact on Gibbs College, its students, staff, faculty, alumni and/or to communities across the globe. The impact may have been, or continues to be, in the form of service and mentorship, sustained professional excellence, and/or advancement and financial support. Joseph Edgar Smay is part of the 2025 Hall of Fame class.
Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture congratulates three architecture students who were recognized in the 2026 AIA Dallas Student Design Awards.
