DLI 2008 Class Bios

Christine Girardin

Business Development with Carpenter Sellers Associates Architects
christineg@csaarchitects.com
www.csaarchitects.com
DLI Class President

Originally from a small suburb of Detroit, Michigan, I grew up in a pretty typical, middle-income family.  My father is a banker and my mother was a stay-at-home mom, who volunteered at the local school district, and eventually became the junior high school librarian.  My brother, who is five years my senior, and I spent every summer on my grandparents’ farm in a very small, rural town of Minnesota, where my mother grew up.  My grandparents made a significant impact on my life and taught me the core values that I live by today.  My fondest childhood memories are of the times my brother and I spent with my grandparents.  Most evenings, the four of us sat around the kitchen table telling stories and playing penny poker, which I learned at the ripe old age of five.

Growing up in the suburbs, I always had a lot of friends and a very pleasant childhood and adolescence. When the time came to make a career choice, I knew I wanted to contribute to bettering society.  I have always been passionate about helping others, and knew that I wanted to do something with children.  So, I decided to become an inner-city school teacher. In 1997, I graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Education from Oakland University in Rochester, MI.  Upon graduation, I accepted a position as an elementary school teacher for the Detroit Public School District, where I taught from 1997 through 2006.  During that time, I graduated with a 4.0 from Saginaw Valley State University, where I received my MA in Educational Administration/Leadership.

In 1998, I married my high school sweetheart, Ben Girardin.  Our first date was our sophomore homecoming dance and we have been together ever since.  While I was in school to be a teacher, he was attending Lawrence Technological School of Architecture and is now a licensed architect.  Both of our families are still in Michigan, near the town we grew up in.  He and I decided to make a big change about two years ago, and moved here to Las Vegas.  I had always wanted to leave Michigan and was also ready for a career change.  I think Las Vegas is, without a doubt, the greatest city I’ve ever been to.  So, I figured, why not live there?  We both resigned from our positions in Michigan and made the move.  That was about two years ago, and we’ve never been happier. 

When I came to Las Vegas, I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as a career, but I knew that I wanted to work in a dynamic industry, interact with people, and have flexibility.  I met the principals at Carpenter Sellers while Ben was being sworn in for the Nevada State Board of Architects.  I met them briefly at the ceremony and received a call from one of the principals a couple of days later.  Within five minutes of the interview, we all knew it was a good fit.  I now am the Director of Business Development for CSA. I am extremely happy to be a part of the CSA family, and the Las Vegas community.  

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