Caitlin Jeffs

This is a photo of me taken by a friend I was helping to build her photography portfolio by modeling for her. I got some fun photos of myself as a result, and I liked this one because I was in a park filled with one of my favorite trees, the coastal live oak. It’s a silly photo, but I think it captures my personality well!

Degree: Master of Landscape Architecture

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2024

Prior Degree
BS in Biology, University of Redlands, Redlands, CA

2023 Scholarship
Barbara Fealy Student Scholarship in Landscape Architecture
Cameron & McCarthy Scholarship for Landscape Architecture
College of Design Scholarship

I Am Originally From Santa Cruz, CA

WHY I CAME TO THE UO AND HOW I CHOSE MY MAJOR
I chose to attend the University of Oregon because of the close relationship between the professors and the students. I like that I know my entire cohort well and can collaborate with everyone. I also enjoy the relationship I have with my professors since the department is small enough that they are able to know me, too. It makes my educational experience both more personalized and fun!

I have always had a love of science, nature, art, and people. Landscape Architecture is a fusion of all of these interests and skill, so it seemed a perfect fit for me.

UNIQUE QUALITIES I BRING TO MY STUDIES
My background before embarking on my Landscape Architecture degree was in research and clinical healthcare. Originally, I intended to become a medical doctor. Although I realized my passions lie elsewhere. I bring a unique perspective on people and their needs to my studies. I am excited by the intersection in the needs of a landscape’s human users and the non-human as well. How can healing, inclusivity, biophilia, and reconciling our society with local ecosystems be achieved? I also bring experience in research and coming to my own conclusions based on a wide range of data. This passion for multifunctional, beneficial design backed by a strong ability to conduct research is what I bring to my studies, backed by my many experiences in clinics and research labs.

MY INFLUENTIAL PROFESSORS
David Buckley-Borden has been particularly influential in my current program, although, every professor I have had has influenced me greatly. David, however, has a very different method of design than I naturally do. His studio challenged me to grow, and I did … immensely. I learned so much about myself as a designer, and was able to adopt new ways of approaching a landscape that I would have not engaged in if it wasn’t for David’s way of teaching.

MY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
I am more involved in personal activities than organized ones, as the flexibility is helpful with my busy life split between work and school. However, I love long distance hiking and biking. It centers me and restores my sense of presentness.

MY GREATEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT UO
The Landscape Materials and Construction class series was the most educational class I have ever had. Due to this class, I feel so much more prepared to design. In fact, I have begun to design gardens as a freelance designer largely due to the skills this class gave me.

AFTER GRADUATION
I hope that this time next year I will be working in a firm in Seattle that has benefits and upwards mobility towards a good financial future. I’d love to find a job that designs for sustainability and innovation so that I can work on my passion of designing for the intersection of local ecosystems and society. I also hope to begin working towards opening a design firm of my own!

YOUR GIFT
Scholarship are important to me because it reduces my debt upon graduation. The less debt and interest I have to pay off, the fewer restrictions I will have in achieving my career and personal goals. I would like to start my own firm one day, and to do so, I will need to be debt free and financially stable enough to take the risk. Also, it will make my dream of traveling to see the different landscapes and landscape practices in the future more feasible; I think there is huge value in understanding how different cultures, regions, and people view, interact with, and maintain landscapes. This would be valuable in designing for people and for the future. By having less debt upon graduation, I will be able to invest more into my own career, ongoing learning, and future.

Thank you. Genuinely, thank you. This makes a huge difference to me, and I greatly appreciate and respect the creation of this scholarship. Investing in the education of others is an incredibly selfless act that benefits not just myself and other recipients, but a long line of people into the future that this scholarship will help. Landscape Architecture and other design majors are part of what will shape the world; our nature, climate, infrastructure, and culture. So thank you for funding design, and myself as an individual. Your contribution will go far!