When Stephen T. Ayers graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in architecture in 1985, he joined the military, with dreams of receiving an overseas assignment. But while serving as an officer in the 6510th Civil Engineering Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, Calif., Ayers received orders to move, but to Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska—not once, but twice. After the first order, Ayers asked for and received a six-month reprieve before being ordered to Elmendorf again. Rather than report to the chilly Alaskan outpost, Ayers resigned his commission. But he did fulfill his foreign dreams by working for Voice of America, eventually becoming the international broadcaster’s European construction manager. For that post, he was stationed in sunny Greece.
But Ayers, 57, didn’t land what turned out to be his dream job until returning stateside in 1996 to work for the Architect of the Capitol (AOC). Ayers worked his way up to serve as the acting AOC in 2007. Three years later, President Barack Obama nominated Ayers for the permanent post and the Senate confirmed him as the AOC—only the 11th person to hold the position, which was established in 1793. In 2018, Ayers stepped down. “As an architect, and a public architect,” he says, “it just doesn’t get any better than that.” Ayers called serving as the “steward and caretaker” of the Capitol complex “a great opportunity.”