2010 40 Under Forty: John Gwozdz
Project Landscape Architect, Meridian Associates
Company location: Westborough
Residence: Franklin
Age: 31
Career highlights: My career path started out many years ago in the Pioneer Valley area of Western Massachusetts where I grew up. I have always been attracted to the outdoors — from helping my grandparents and parents in our home gardens to hiking the mountains of the Holyoke range to fishing and swimming in the Connecticut River. I have also always had an interest in the creative arts. Landscape architecture is in many ways a convergence of these interests, and one, that if done well, can have a lasting impact on people in the way they connect with the environment around them.
Community involvement: My wife Jennifer and I have tried to be involved with our local and regional communities whenever possible. We have participated in different capacities in the state’s leading anti-hunger organization, Project Bread, in its annual Walk for Hunger, which is the oldest continual pledge walk in the country that generates privately donated funds for more than 400 emergency food programs in 128 communities statewide. Also, I am teaching a course on landscape architecture to a local Boy Scout troop.
Biggest challenge: The biggest challenge is achieving a good balance between work and play. In the design world sometimes it’s easy to become obsessed with discovering a solution or meeting a deadline. Then again, on a beautiful New England summer day, it’s tough to stick around the office. The challenge comes when these circumstances occur simultaneously.
Mentors: Personally, my family, parents and siblings have had the greatest impact on me. Professionally, I have made it a point to learn things from many different people, with the most recent being Mark Beaudry, an engineer who is a self-proclaimed “closet landscape architect.”
Hidden talent: I have had a lot of recent success winning fantasy sports championships.
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