When Sam McCutcheon enrolled at St. Clair College back in 2012, he had no idea he'd be the living embodiment of one of the school's slogans: Start Here, Go Anywhere.
"I always knew I wanted to be an architect," McCutcheon says, while looking out his office window in the great city of Boston, Massachusetts.
But "not in a million years" did the 31-year-old think his educational and professional journey would take him to the historic campus of Harvard University, one of the premiere Ivy League schools and research facilities in the world.
"I never would have imagined this happening, but I always knew what I wanted. I just didn't know how I'd make it happen," recalls McCutcheon, who grew up in Windsor's Riverside neighbourhood.
His father attended St. Clair College and coming out of high school, McCutcheon was looking to follow in his footsteps and stay close to home.
"But I was always on the lookout for opportunities, you know? It's all about the path."
That path started when he walked into his first class in the Architectural Technology program at St. Clair College.
"Students come along, and you see the ones where it's kind of in their blood," says Ken Acton, a professor in the Architectural Technology program. "And Sam was one of them."
Acton remembers McCutcheon as a student who was always one step ahead of his lectures, regularly bringing material into class that would create discussion and raise the bar for fellow students.
"He was always very highly engaged," says Acton. "And you could see he loved it."
McCutcheon studied for three years at St. Clair, where he honed his drafting skills and practiced many tasks he was already doing in his spare time.
"I got to do it at school now, something I was already doing at home, and that's how I knew I chose the right program and that it would be a good three years ahead of me right off the bat," McCutcheon recalls.
Shipping Up To Boston
When his time at St. Clair wound to a close, the eager student started thinking about his next step in life. Would he go look for a job? Would he keep advancing his education? He was eyeing an articulation agreement St. Clair College has with Lawrence Technological University in Detroit where he could receive credit towards an undergraduate degree and a Master of Architecture.
McCutcheon ultimately decided to take a "gap year" to save up some money and prime himself for his next move. But lingering questions about his path would soon be answered after a fortuitous conversation with students and professors at St. Clair, who were in early conversations with Boston Architectural College (BAC) for a formal articulation agreement.
"They had talked to the school, but there wasn't really a formal agreement in place," says McCutcheon, who took it upon himself to take the reins of his own destiny.
That summer, he and some friends took a trip to Boston. He instantly fell in love with the city. He also fell in love with the idea of going to school at BAC.
"So, I approached BAC with my transcripts and said, hey, what kind of agreement could we come to?" McCutcheon says, in his mission to determine how many credits could carry over.
Low and behold, he was accepted into the master's program at BAC and was moving to Boston.
"I kind of, by chance, was the first student who was able to utilize that transfer agreement," McCutcheon says. "And that established the framework that St. Clair has as an agreement with them today, which is great, because other students have been able to utilize that as well."
Three dozen other St. Clair graduates have since followed the same path to BAC, where according to Prof. Acton, they excel academically, with a collective 3.84 grade point average.
A Master of Opportunity
McCutcheon whipped through his master's degree at BAC, completing the program in just two years.
"It was expensive to live in the U.S., and I just needed to get this out of the way as fast as possible," he thought, at the time.
But Boston was Boston.
"I was in a city that's so rich in history and has so much historic architecture, but also is growing so rapidly," says McCutcheon. "It was a really good opportunity, and I really enjoyed it here."
But there was another reason he was convinced going to BAC was the right move. During his program, he was required to complete a certain number of work hours to graduate, some of which were applicable towards getting his license.
He applied for a three-month internship at Harvard University to work as a campus planner for the medical school.
"Putting Harvard on your resume will be really valuable long term," he concluded, after consulting with his parents.
So he went ahead with the internship, despite the fact it was only three months.
"I kept working hard, making sure that I remained motivated there, you know, staying on top of things, and really tried to prove my value," McCutcheon remembers. "And fortunately, I was able to get an extension, and the first extension turned into another extension, and then another extension."
By the fourth extension, it was getting close to the end of 2018, and the end of his tenure at BAC. Upon graduation, he would no longer be eligible to work as an intern in the United States.
McCutcheon went to his boss and told him of this predicament, suggesting if a position could be created for him to stay, he could apply for a permit to work in the U.S.
"When the director of my department heard about that, he advocated to actually create a new planner position for me, which allowed me to stay working for Harvard Medical School as an architectural planner after I graduated."
And that's where he's been ever since.
From St. Clair to Harvard
By 2019, the budding architect was now a campus planning coordinator at Harvard University.
McCutchen was able to sink he teeth into projects where he could have a real impact, especially at such an historic place teeming with architectural challenges.
"There's little to no room to grow, and it's the most expensive cost per square footage for research facilities in the U.S.," McCutcheon says.
One of his favourite projects happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and included a renovation of Gordon Hall, an administrative building which he describes looking like "a temple from Greece or Rome."
His task was to take the top three floors of the building and convert them into a co-working space for the schools' administrative departments to better suit the new hybrid-work reality evolving at the time.
"You don't need your own dedicated office anymore, but you still want a good space where you can touch down, meet with your team members, meet with other people on campus and in a like-minded environment," he says.
The $50 million project quickly became the flagship co-working space for all administrative staff working hybrid schedules on campus at Harvard.
"I think one of the best parts of working here is they recognize the value in everyone, and everybody kind of reinforces that value," McCutcheon says. "If I have a project that goes well, I'm recognized for that. I feel valued for that."
McCutcheon took the opportunity to advance his education yet again, enrolling in the Master of Liberal Arts in Management program at Harvard in 2020, while working full-time.
He completed his second master's degree by 2023 and can now call himself a Harvard alumnus.
"At the beginning of his career, Sam has already reached a high point. So I'm curious to see where he'll go next," says Prof. Acton, who has stayed in touch with McCutcheon since his days as a student at St. Clair more than a decade ago. "I'm truly excited for him, and I really want to see where he goes with this, because that's the fulfilling part of being a teacher."
McCutcheon is now a full-time planner at Harvard Medical School.
"One of the nicest parts about working in architecture is you see the physical results and impact of the spaces you've designed," he says. "After designing a space, I'll go walk through afterwards, and people will be complimenting or commenting on how well it works. And the fact that people recognize the vital role that architecture and good design plays is really rewarding."
Looking Ahead
While he's incredibly fulfilled in his current role, McCutcheon's dream in life is to design skyscrapers.
"If this can happen in this amount of time, imagine what can happen in the future," he says.
Not one to rest on his laurels, he believes the next logical step is to go into project development, where he would deal with the business side of things, architectural design and making preliminary decisions on projects.
Despite his success, McCutcheon has never forgotten where he came from and is thankful that his path to success started at St. Clair. He recognizes his journey wasn't exactly clean-cut, but led by intuition, he forged his own path and ensured his future success with a time-tested formula.
"Be patient, and never lose sight of what your goals are," he says, thinking back to his original vision.
"I always had this vision for what I wanted; I just didn't know how to make it happen. But I knew what ingredients I needed to make that happen," says McCutcheon. "And my success was in being patient enough to let those ingredients bake."
"It's true. From St. Clair, you really can go anywhere," McCutcheon says.
"There's a world of opportunity out there."