Above: (L-R) Ross Barkley, Will Stanford, and Ben Kitchens, graduates of School of Architecture at Mississippi State University, are all realizing their dream of having careers as architects.
Three New Albany graduates are enjoying their careers as architects while fulfilling life-long dreams. Ross Barkley, Ben Kitchens and Will Stanford graduated from Mississippi State University School of Architecture in May of 2007 and are progressing nicely in their new careers. Barkley is a 1998 graduate of W. P. Daniel High School and Kitchens and Stanford are both 2002 graduates of New Albany High School.
The three work mainly in commercial architecture and are involved in all the aspects of architecture including designing, meeting with clients and engineers, and managing projects. Stanford works for Seay, Seay and Litfield Architects in Montgomery, Alabama. Barkley and Kitchens work for architectural firms in Jackson, Mississippi. Barkley, who also has a degree in Civil Engineering is affiliated with Dale and Associates while Kitchens, who is certified to design green based architecture, works for JH&H Architects.
Stanford is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Stanford and is married to the former Mary Frances Agnew. Barkley is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Barkley and Kitchens is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Dave Kitchens.
Barkley, Kitchens, and Stanford all realize their goals have been accomplished because of their determination and the encouragement of family, friends, and teachers. “The people from New Albany High School who were most instrumental in preparing me for architectural school at Mississippi State were Mr. Bill Wigington who taught Drafting I and I and Mrs. LeeAnn Thompson who taught Art,” said Will Stanford.
Barkley was encouraged by his geography classes in elementary school. “At a very young age, I was able to recognize most any city in the world with a glance at its skyline or specific buildings.” He continued, “I became fascinated with the reaction to specific cultures based on their geographical location, and in turn, the reaction on these culture’s buildings, houses, and roads”.
Kitchens says he owes a lot to architect Debbie Wilbanks Cherry, also a New Albany graduate and President of DWC and Associates in Tupelo. “In eighth grade Career Discovery, I had to interview an architect which was Debbie Cherry and about eight years later I was working for her during the summers.” Kitchens continued by saying, “She gave me the experience I needed to give me a solid base for the beginning of my career.”
The mothers of the three architects agreed that the New Albany School District played an important role in their sons’ reaching their career goals. “Mrs. Robinson’s Oral Communications class was a positive for Ross. It helped him gain self-confidence in his ability to express his thoughts and ideas,” said Bettye Lou Barkley. “On his road to becoming an architect, he has had to make many presentation and the confidence gained and lessons learned at New Albany High School gave him confidence in his ability to communicate.”
Trisha Kitchens remembers her son playing with blocks and building at a very young age. She will always be grateful for the education he received in the New Albany Schools that helped him in realizing his dreams. “Ben was very fortunate to have had art as early as elementary and middle schools and continued in high school with actual art classes and drafting classes. He had many special teachers at all the schools that fostered his creativity and encouraged him,” she said.
“Will has said he wanted to go to Mississippi State University and then be an architect since the third grade. He is a goal-oriented person and a lot of that sense of follow-through and the chance to be creative and expressive came from his school experience,” said Dr. Carla Stanford. “Not only did he find good friends and wonderful teachers, he was able to nurture his love for design through art, drafting classes, and other outlets.”
For middle and high school students who are considering pursuing a career in architecture, the three architects have plenty of good advice. Kitchens and Stanford suggest taking all four sections of art and the drafting classes. Kitchens also recommended taking Physics and “shadowing” an architect for a day. Stanford added that taking higher-level math classes would be beneficial. Barkley suggested that those interested in architecture attend the Design Discovery Camp at Mississippi State University.
New Albany School District is proud of all its graduates. If you know of a New Albany graduate who has recently received an honor, please email Melanie Shannon, Public Relations at mshannon@newalbany.k12.ms.us.
