FLUID Mentoring Stories | Elizabeth & Maliha

Elizabeth FLUID Mentee

I’ve wanted to be an architect since I was 13 years old. I grew up in London and found interest in spatial design and the relation between people and space, therefore I chose a journey that explored this.

I graduated from the University of Brighton, online, in 2020, in the middle of the first Coronavirus lockdown. It was not at all what I’d imagined the end of my undergraduate university career to be like. It was surreal.

My final proposal project however was an arts therapeutic centre for underprivileged students in London, as I noticed a resource gap discussing mental health. This project was awarded and gave me hope that my values could be read and acknowledged through my work.

The world of work was no less daunting, with lots of built environment professionals being made redundant and the future looking very uncertain, with projects being delay or shelved. It wasn’t an ideal climate for a graduate looking start the process of qualification to become a chartered architect.

I found out about Fluid through LinkedIn and decided that I needed all the help I could get, so I applied to be a mentee on the 2022 programme.  I was delighted when I met my mentor, Maliha, who is really easy to talk to, open and friendly. I’ve always thought of architects as being a little elitist and I’ve sometimes felt quite intimidated in their company.

I’m the only one in my family who isn’t studying or working in medicine, so I don’t have any role models other than those I’ve come across at university and since graduating.

My ambition as an architect is to work in humanitarian design and community engagement. I’ve applied my skills differently by working in a sustainable construction consultancy and have gravitated towards social value projects that emphasise redesigning inclusive spaces: I am a creative person and I need to be making things and view architecture as an avenue to do so.

Maliha is helping me to widen my perspective and encourages me to prioritize networking. Last month I went to a meet and greet organised and hosted by Black Females in Architecture. This is something I never would have done before meeting Maliha. It’s difficult to walk into these situations alone, however, it was a valuable experience, and I was exposed to great opportunities. 

When I’m chartered, I’d like to work abroad, in Nigeria (where my family is originally from) and in other parts of Africa.  Maliha is definitely helping me to achieve my goals and I consider myself very lucky to have this mentoring opportunity and to be paired with her. Fluid is proving to be a brilliant experience and I’m much more hopeful as a result of this experience.

Maliha FLUID Mentor

I’ve known about Built By Us for a couple of years now and I’ve heard Danna Walker, its Founder, speak on several occasions. She does amazing work.

My initial impression of the Fluid Mentoring Programme, when I applied to be a mentor (having missed the deadline for applications a couple of times), is how well-established, structured and thorough the process is. I had to submit my CV and be interviewed to be a Fluid mentor. The interview process which applies to mentors and mentees alike is great because it makes you reflect on what it is that you’re undertaking and really think about the commitment you are making to yourself and to the other party. 

In the interview, I was asked if I had any preferences in terms of who I mentored. I thought I’d be good at mentoring recent graduates who were looking for opportunities in architecture. I recall that at that stage in my career I was determined to succeed, and how difficult it is to transition from academia to the workplace and gain your post-graduate qualifications, especially in these uncertain times. I felt well supported in the process and my mentee is an amazing woman who graduated from university at the start of the pandemic.

Elizabeth and I have met once a month face-to-face since January. I think we are quite similar. We both love to talk about our work and our aspirations. Elizabeth recently wore a t-shirt to one of our meetings which said SISTERS MAKE EACH OTHER STRONGER. I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t an accident that she was wearing that particular t-shirt that day and it made me smile. It made me feel proud of the work we are doing together.

At our meetings, we catch up on how the month’s gone. In the first half, we update ourselves about what’s going on and what we’re working and in the second half, we look at goals.

Elizabeth hasn’t found opportunities in architecture but she wants to find work as a Part 1 architecture assistant. She’s got a really good CV and portfolio and she’s getting invited to interviews, so my job now is to help her convert interviews to job offers.

Currently, we are working on confidence-building and growing her network. Increasing your network can be as simple as just sending someone a message after a talk or staying connected after an event. Networking in architecture can be quite fluid and as easy as a quick follow-up message.  When you have a knock back it’s important to organise your thinking and focus on how to follow up and to ask for feedback.  It’s important to focus on these elements of the process rather than any negative feelings.

Elizabeth wants to work on public projects, working with communities. She’s looking for something quite specific and this is a very different area of architecture to mine. She is ambitious and eager and I can see a lot of myself in her when I was her age and at her stage in her career. We have a similar vision.

I didn’t expect to have this sisterly thing going on. The structure of Fluid is a really good format compared with other programmes.The whole process is well-informed and reminds you that you’re making an important commitment to someone. 

Maliha Haque is an Architect with extensive experience of workplace and commercial fit out projects, both in the UK and overseas. She has worked for clients including Accor Group, HSBC, National Bank of Oman and Tesco, handling projects through every stage from inception through to construction.