Years as a Camper: 1999-2003 (5 summers)
Years as a Staff Member/Position(s) held: 2004, 2006-2011 (7 summers); staff Trainee (1 summer), Junior Counselor (1 summer), Senior in Charge (3 summers), Powerboating UA at Sea Gull (1 summer), Powerboating UA at Seafarer (1 summer)
Current Profession and Title: [Architect] Founder & Principal of Douglas Crawford Architect PLLC, Lecturer at University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation, and Lecturer at George Washington University Corcoran School of the Arts & Design
What have been your greatest personal and professional accomplishments?
Personally, I am incredibly proud to have such a wonderful and loving family with my wife Lexi, our son William, and our dog Gatsby. I consider our family my greatest accomplishment while it is also an ongoing journey through difficult times and the best of times. Professionally I was honored to receive the 2019 Emerging Architect Award from the DC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects as well as the 2020 Outstanding Teaching Award from the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation. Receiving these awards has made me aware of my influence within my profession as an entrepreneur and also my positive impact on students and academia as a faculty member.
How do the values or skills learned at Camp show up in your everyday work or personal life?
The values I learned at Camp are timeless and play a large part in my life on a daily basis. How I treat others and how I love my family go hand in hand with the character development that I was taught while at Camp.The leadership skills that I developed as a Powerboating UA at Sea Gull & Seafarer stick with me today as I lead architectural project teams through difficult scenarios. When I was teaching upper ranks as a counselor I began to establish the skills and passion for teaching that I use now as a professor.
What person or situation influenced you most at Camp and why did they/it impact you?
Camp has had an incredible influence on my life and shaped who I am today. Many of my lifelong friends are those I met at Camp, and most importantly I met my future wife at Camp! Meeting Lexi during my second year on staff, dating throughout the summers while in college, and getting engaged on the Seafarer pier during our last summer on staff was an incredible beginning to a love story and family that could only have formed at Camp. We owe so much of our shared memories and happiness to Camp and cannot wait for our son to be a camper in just a few years.
How what advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t spend too much time focused on the specifics of what you think you want to be when you grow up. Instead, spend that time figuring out what you want to learn, your passions will follow, and it will all work out.
Favorite Camp food:
Cabin cookouts!
Favorite book:
The Devil in the White City
What profession other than your own would you like to try?
Sailing
What would you eat if you could only have one food for the rest of your life?
Bananas
Morning person or night owl?
Night owl
Text or call?
Neither, a Pilot V5 pen and heavy cardstock paper