Cultureshock Los Angeles: A midwesterner’s guide to acoustics, food trucks, and surfing

Samantha Rawlings & Joshua Magee were awarded a Student Paper Award at the Fall 2007 Acoustical Society of America conference in New Orleans for undergraduate research on sound radiation from footfall noise. This student project paved the way for Samantha to move to Los Angeles to join Veneklasen Associates, which was a wholly un-looked for opportunity for someone who once laughed outright at a Hardees commercial showing a hamburger wrapped in lettuce. Since moving to LA, Samantha has become a LEED AP and Project Manager and has had the chance to work on projects of all size and scope; everything from the “mystery noise” cold call to landmark project such as City Creek Center in Salt Lake City and Wilshire Grand in downtown Los Angeles. Additionally, Samantha has participated in research projects that have been presented at ASA, NoiseCon, and Internoise conferences. In this presentation, Samantha reflects on the surprising events of the past seven years and the adventure of learning to fit in and love Southern California.