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Marco Rossi, an environmental product design major from Seattle, Washington, would like to design and fabricate for a design-build firm. 

“Marco was one of my first students in ARCH 2100 back in 2017. He was a wonderful, creative student during our studio together. But, it wasn't until Marco and I crossed paths in 2020 when he was first a monitor at the CINC (where my EPOD studio visited frequently) and then a TA for the same EPOD studio (once classes went online) that I truly recognized how unique of a person he was. At the CINC Marco had boundless energy and engaged every task and opportunity head-on. He was friendly and helpful and smiled through each task with a sincere presence. I even brought in a personal project one day, a broken toaster handle, and Marco took time to weld the broken handle back into working order. What a guy! Fast forward to after spring break and classes have gone online. I invited Marco to be our TA knowing how skilled he was with tools and techniques and having knowledge of him working in the EPOD discipline as a Capstone student. To my delight, Marco said Yes!

From day one, Marco showed up with such patience and became a reliable, trusted part of our studio. He jumped right into the class format and transformed so many projects, I've lost count. Some of the feedback I received at the end of the semester about Marco was about how awesome it was having him - so knowledgeable, so helpful.....How lucky we were to have Marco, he helped so much... and my personal favorite, How amazing and available Marco was - he handed out his phone number and offered himself for Rhino questions, fabrication questions, or anything project related at any hour, even in the days leading up to his own Capstone final. When I told Marco we couldn't have succeeded in the final 8 weeks without him, I was being sincere. We split studio each week on Zoom and all I heard in my next studio sessions were improvements and excitement about... Here's what Marco said! So, Thank you, Marco!! From all of us in EPOD 2100 and from me. I wish you success in wherever you go next and feel so thankful to know and have spent time with you this semester. With gratitude.” –Rachel Lavine Lee

Every day I was excited to come into work at the CINC and see what my fellow classmates were working on. I can only imagine what some of the things you all will get into after graduation! Please stay in touch, and let me know what your up to!

What inspired you to come to ENVD?
I’ve always been interested in sustainability and design. I started off at CU as an environmental engineer. I wanted to improve the world through creation, collaboration, and novel technology. I soon found that the school of Environmental Design was a better place to accomplish my goals. In addition, the project-based curriculum allowed me to better demonstrate my abilities.

What will you miss the most?
The thing I will miss the most from ENVD is the community, connections, and friendships. I’ve made so many connections here at CU, connections I intend to maintain. I can only hope that where I end up next will have the same level of community. 

Favorite memory?
One of my favorite memories here at CU was working on the mobile ticket centers for the Denver botanical gardens. This project involved many 12 hour days, early mornings, and late nights. It was fun to work hard with my coworkers and friends at the CINC. We played music, joked around, and fabricated amazing design work for three months. I will never forget that project or the people I was working with.

What are your plans beyond graduation?
My goal beyond graduation is to find a job in the design field where I get to design and fabricate things. Hopefully, this looks like working for some sort of design-build firm.