What goes around comes around. That saying holds true for Joelen (Jo). After earning her B.A. in Architecture, she worked for several years as an intern architect for McDonald’s Corporation in Oak Brook, IL. Those were the early days of AutoCAD, and Joelen helped set the standards for McDonald’s restaurants as she designed floor plans to support the brand experience. Today, years later, she is happily serving McDonald’s again. This time, with Reprise Design as a Project Manager.
There’s a commonality among many architects. They seem to get “bitten by the architecture bug” early on. It’s true with Joelen. She clearly recalls finding her career in sixth grade as she drew floor plans just for fun. Later, in high school, a special drafting teacher mentored her toward her career and into college where she drafted for the University of Iowa. Her professional experience is solid. In the past 20-plus years, she has served clients in corporate, commercial, residential, government, higher education, and health care industries.
Joelen is goal-oriented. She planfully looks forward, yet she steadily focuses on the present. Widowed from her soulmate and a single mom at 38, she learned not to take things for granted. Her mantra: live life to the fullest. Don’t waste a minute of it, and have no regrets.
Ask her what lights up her life. She’ll firmly name her son. “He’s my pride and joy,” she states. Ask her what makes her happy. She’ll mention adventure and culture: biking, hiking, kayaking, yoga, art museums and plays—all with family or friends.
You’ll enjoy working with Joelen. We sure do. She is artistic, organized, skillful socially and has a great capacity to motivate others. She embraces the thought leadership of Stephen Covey, BlessingWhite, James Lewis and others. She builds habits, manages her professional growth and skillfully executes projects on time, on budget, and with maximum efficiency and productivity.
Here’s an interesting tidbit. Ask Joelen about Texas Holdem, and we’ll let her share the rest of that story.
