Home
Last year as our mentors and students were preparing for the annual IIDA Student Mentoring Program, the world around us was quickly changing. Designers and students everywhere were faced with something that they are well-equipped for—sudden changes to well-laid plans and quick thinking and reorganizing to conform to new public safety protocols.
State-to-state and firm-to-firm many mentors and mentees pivoted to virtual mentoring sessions. As we’ve spent the past year in various states of working from home and reflecting on the future of the workplace, offering our program virtually this year feels like a natural evolution—after all, the state of the workplace is now virtual and home-based. As we gear up for another round of matching students to professional mentors, this revised program allows us to extend our geographic reach to make matches that are a good fit but not necessarily close enough for a day trip.
In addition to the workplace changing, many in the industry have found their roles and responsibilities changing which can be an incredibly valuable experience to share with young and future designers. IIDA Student members and current design professionals, manufacturer representatives, dealers, and educators who want to elevate the education of students with real-world experience are encouraged to apply. For reflections on the most recent mentorship program as it straddled in-person and virtual events, we’ve gathered insight from student members’ essays submitted to the 2020 Wilsonart Essay Competiton discussing their participation in the program.
Cailey Wingate, Student IIDA of Indiana University was matched with Unispace in Chicago and had a completely virtual experience led by Project Architect Carl Sergio, AIA. She shared that while she was no longer able to physically be in the space, Carl set up a week of virtual meetings for her with his design team. “Each day, I was able to talk to a different team member, getting different perspectives of Unispace and the Interior Design Industry,” explains Wingate.
“My expectations of where the conversations would lead had included an education of the company, an average day in the workplace, and any advice that they had for me as an aspiring Interior Designer. While I did walk away from this experience having gained these insights, it was the additional advice that had exceeded my expectations—each member had enriched our conversation with such enthusiasm, ending each day with a different lesson that I was inspired to incorporate into my own life.”
Of the importance of creating these professional networks, Cailey notes that “Carl continues to connect me with design professionals that he feels can support me in my journey. He turned out to truly be a mentor for me and for this I will always be grateful to The IIDA Student Mentoring Program.”
These experiences often make such an impact on our student members that they themselves become passionate about continuing their involvement but as mentors. Cailey herself offered herself as a resource for prospective design students through her school advisor and, “A week later, I spoke to a high school senior interested in the IU Interior Design program. I shared
with her my experience, just as the Unispace team had done with me. She is now officially going to Indiana to study Interior Design...I realize that while a simple conversation may seem like no big deal to one person, it can inspire and change the life of another.”
