Sidney McCallum – Architect-In-Training
This Macon, Georgia, native got her first taste of the design/build process as a young girl while accompanying her father, a skilled concrete finisher, on his job sites.
She says it felt like magic watching a project transform from a drawing on paper to a completed structure, and she knew she wanted to be a part of the process.
Sidney headed to Arizona State University as a scholarship holder and enrolled in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. As a student, she excelled in her studies, landing on the Dean’s List and participating in the university’s Greek life as an Alpha Chi Omega. She graduated Cum Laude in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies.
The one thing she finds most compelling about architecture is the impact a project can have on a person or community.
Read on to learn more about Sidney:
Are you an AZ native? No, I was born in Macon, GA, and in middle school we moved to a small town just outside of Jackson Hole, WY.
What brought you to Arizona? The weather, of course!
Describe your family. I’m the baby of three. My brother and sister are my role models and best friends. My parents have been together since high school, and they have really raised the bar on how I view true love.
What was your favorite/memorable job as a teenager? I worked in a coffee hut in the middle of a dirt parking lot in my tiny hometown. It wasn’t the most glamorous job, but I would be in the hut at 5 a.m. making muffins and watching the sun rise while the rest of the town was asleep. Those were some of the most peaceful moments of my life.
Free time activities? Anything and everything outdoors.
Any special talents? I can solve a Rubik’s Cube in under two minutes. My goal is to get under a minute by the end of the year.
Proudest moment? Accepting my first full-time job out of college.
Was there a particular moment when you knew architecture was your destiny? In my first semester of college, I had to hand draft plans of an existing site just by looking at the structure and taking mental measurements. I really struggled at first, but the moment I held up my finished documents, I knew I wanted to have that feeling for the rest of my life. I was so proud to have learned how to draft, and it was during COVID, so I did it alone in my dorm room without any help. Those are the only physical documents I kept from my undergraduate years.
Dream project? Building a school where it’s really needed.
What is your greatest fear? The Yellowstone Caldera!
What is your least favorite food? Yogurt—the texture really throws me off.
First pet? Name? Special moments? I got my Jack Russell, Taz, in kindergarten, and he made it until my senior year of college. He passed away a few months before my graduation. He was my best friend, and I’m so unbelievably lucky to have been able to grow up with him.
Favorite movie genre? Thriller! I love a mind-numbing movie that leaves you wondering what the heck you just watched.
Favorite Netflix binge? I always find my way back to Friends, New Girl, That 70’s Show, or Gray’s Anatomy.
Favorite movie? Top Gun ( 1 & 2)
Who is on your current playlist? Chris Stapleton, Kenny Chesney, Tyler Childers, Kendrick Lamar, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Name two things you do every day. I haven’t missed a day of the New York Times games (crossword, wordle, strands, etc.) in over a year, and I have at least one little sweet treat a day.
Do you have any good habits? If so, what are they? I am so picky about how I fold my laundry; it’s both a blessing and a curse.
It’s your last day on earth. How will you spend it? I would be at the river in my hometown, just soaking in the sunshine and taking in the views.
What one life lesson have you learned so far? “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34
