Majoring in architecture and scheduled to graduate next spring, Ellery Susa is spending her summer as an intern assistant architect at Jason Canning Architects, Inc., in Jacksonville, Fla. Canning himself earned his master’s degree in architecture from the University of Florida in 2006.

On a daily basis, Susa takes on smaller projects or works with Canning to produce plans, sections and construction documents for clients. A member of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMAS), she collaborates with the firm’s owner by listening to what their customer’s vision and then designing multiple versions of it to meet the client’s needs.