Katie Zwart

I was born in St. Charles, Illinois, in 1984 and lived in Aurora, Illinois, until the end of the Summer of 2005. I was very sad when I moved but we just moved over one town to Sugar Grove where I live when I'm not in Champaign. Aurora is a large city, second only to Chicago (although Naperville claims to be larger but really they're 4th). Since Aurora is a large city it comes with city problems such as gangs that give the city a bad reputation, but I grew up in a decent neighborhood centered around the grade school I went to from pre- to 8th.

I went to Rosary High School, an all-girl Catholic high school (equipped with kilts and monogrammed sweaters and blouses). My older sister and brother went to East Aurora H.S. but told my parents not to send my younger sister and me there. Most people joke around about Rosary, but deep down we loved it and we had the all-guys Catholic high school, Marmion, to keep us company ;) In the summers of 1999 and 2000 I lived in Chicago for a month each while taking classes in the Early College Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was crazy living downtown when I was only 15 & 16 with other kids my age free to roam the city! I graduated in 2002 and came here to UIUC for Engineering but switched to Architecture. I studied abroad in the Versailles Program at Ecole d'Architecture de Versailles 2005-2006. I lived in France for 2 semesters and went to school in part of the Chateau de Versailles of King Louis XIV! It was the best year of my life! I just graduated in May 2007 with a Bach. of FAA, Architectural Studies; however to be a licenced architect I need to get my masters and intern for a minimum of 3yrs.... I am taking classes here at Parkland to help develop my portfolio and will be moving to Chicago after this semester with my sister. From my experience building models I have decided that I like to not only see my designs on the computer but create them in physical form. (btw, I owe insane amounts of money toward student loans, but it was worth it!)

Preface, I hate "favorite" questions.
Music: Almost anything but country, I can't stand it (sorry, no offense :) )! I love '90s rock alternative (circa Pearl Jam) and much more! Some of the music I listen to the most is (in no particular order) - The Beatles, Sondre Lerche (look him up!), Fiona Apple, Modest Mouse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Journey, Green Day, Incubus, Jack Johnson, Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson (No. 1s cd is awesome, don't make fun!), No Doubt (Tragic Kingdom), Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Sublime, Weezer....I have a whole long list but I have to stop.

Artist: I love figure drawing! Gustav Klimt, Auguste Rodin (he has a lot of sculptures, but I focus on his sketches), Leonardo da Vinci, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent Van Gogh, etc.

Movies: To be honest, I don't really follow any filmmakers in particular. I love La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful), Moulin Rouge, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry), The Wizard of Oz, Indiana Jones, Big Fish, Down With Love, The Shawshank Redemption, The Count of Monte Cristo, Garden State, The Royal Tennenbaums, The Princess Bride, Fried Green Tomatoes, Forrest Gump, 12 Monkeys....and so much more...

My computer experience....I started in Engineering, but previous to that I only used computers to write term papers and hit print. Someone had to show me how to save to a disk, how embarrassing...but by the end of that semester I had built a 3d car in Inventor 5.0 (it was really cool at the time). Now, I know AutoCAD, but only have Photoshop experience with no instruction so I don't really know what I'm doing. I need to learn Revit and InDesign, etc. I'm probably about 6-7/10.

This picture is of me getting my tattoo in Amsterdam. My 2 sisters and I got matching tattoos when they came to visit me while I was studying abroad. They told me it didn't hurt...they lied.