Six Interior Design Students; Six Amazing Internships
By Courtney Hammett ’19
Converse’s Interior Design students had a productive and fun summer with a variety of internships at firms including CBI, Milliken and Fowler Interiors.
All Converse College Interior Design students have the opportunity to participate in a professional internship with an interior design or architectural firm. Many of our interior design graduates are recruited for full-time positions after graduation with the employers they interned with!
Read about our students’ firsthand experiences:
Who: Catera Young ‘19
Where: Fowler Interiors
Her Internship Experience:
“I landed my Internship with Fowler Interiors, a residential firm located in Downtown Greenville, SC. I loved it and learned so much while being there. I was able to travel with the designers to their project locations and have a hands-on experience! I spoke with the clients, took project notes and measurements, as well as selected the materials for the finished design.
Catera Young ’19
I got to assist the designers with pretty much everything they needed, whether it was drawing out plans, picking materials or calling vendors. It was an amazing experience and I am very appreciative of the time I got to spend at Fowler. They taught me so much about how things work in the world of our profession. After my internship, a job opportunity came my way as a designer’s assistant and I was able to work closely with yet another wonderful designer in Greenville!”
Who: Sarah Russell ’19 (Nisbet Honors)
Where: LS3P Associates Ltd., Raleigh, NC
Her Internship Experience: “I was really lucky to get my internship at LS3P- they are well known throughout the Southeast and growing rapidly, taking on some high-profile clients and creating inspiring, innovative designs.
The office does mainly commercial, higher education and healthcare design – which is awesome because those are the fields I want to work in after I graduate. Mainly, I modeled projects in Revit. Each project we work on goes through many, many revisions, so after meeting with each client or going through the plan with other architects and designers, I was tasked with making these changes on our Revit model. I have also helped space plan for a few projects, coming up with layout options and design features.
The coolest thing I learned is a program called Enscape, which allows you to walk through your model like you would a video game.
I got to attend Lunch-and-Learns with sales reps and presentations by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) on a wide variety of subjects. I had the opportunity to go out into the field and observe OAC (Owner, Architect, Contractor) meetings on job sites as well as conduct utilization studies…and much more! The coolest thing I learned is a program called Enscape, which allows you to walk through your model like you would a video game. We even hook up the VR goggles for our clients, so they can walk through the spaces we have made for them. As a designer, this very useful because it allows us to experience our designs the way we would if they were built.”
Who: Kaitlyn Brown (Interior Design)
Where: Milliken Flooring in LaGrange, GA (Technical Services and Custom Product Development)
Her Internship Experience: “My internship includes understanding carpet construction, carpet dye process, and creating flooring concepts for installation. So far, I have created 3-D AutoDesk Revit models for the future Maple Complex (under construction in LaGrange, GA) which includes furniture, materials, artwork designs, and light fixtures and have also created remodel ideas for the Live Oak plant breakroom for the plant manager.
Towards the end of the summer, I worked with a few team members at Milliken to create a design for a new showroom in the Live Oak plant. It has been a cool experience learning about flooring installation and manufacturing as well as creating a space to be really unique and personal for the clients.”
Who: Brianna Putnam ‘19
Where: Milliken – Roger Milliken Campus Floor Covering Division (Spartanburg)
Her Internship Experience: “I worked on the contract team and helped come up with product design and new development. I also created inspiration boards and color reference tools for the designers, which assisted them with creating new carpet designs. I worked with global designers and learned about the products provided at the Milliken locations in China and Australia. I have loved working for Milliken—they exposed me to so much design knowledge that I can’t wait to bring into my senior year.”
Sarah Mathena ’19, Laura Williams, Jessica Peeler ’16
Who: Sarah Mathena ‘19
Where: CBI (a furniture wholesaler for Knoll)
Her Internship Experience: “CBI offers furniture solutions for offices and the healthcare industry. Part of my role was to update solutions for clients and create budget sheets. Their library needed to be updated and organized, so I did that as well. I got the internship by applying through CBI after we had a speaker come and talk to us about the internship program. I have enjoyed the experience and I have a better grasp of the business in the real world. I am better prepared for when I graduate and even have a better chance of getting a job at CBI.”
Who: Maggie Gaston ‘19
Where: University of South Carolina Housing Construction and Renovations
Her Internship Experience: “Since I have been at USC I have helped select finishing fabrics and materials for upcoming renovation projects, taken dimensions and created AutoCAD drawing/floor plans of existing spaces, assisted in designing wayfinding throughout residential halls, and kept in contact with dealers to ensure new products were always available. I already had some experience with most of these tasks from learning about them in my design classes at Converse, but tasks such as interacting and communicating with manufacturers and dealers were new for me (and a very helpful thing to learn for the future).
I got the opportunity to work for USC this summer by attending a portfolio review that was held down the road at Milliken Headquarters. My professor, Ruth Beals, set up the reviews and had several designers there to critique and help us with our work.
I really enjoyed working at USC. Everyone is so welcoming, helpful and overall just a joy to be around. I have learned so much and participated in numerous hands-on projects. I believe that all I have done here this summer will be beneficial to my future career in interior design.”