The Scoop from MFA Students & NYSID’s Office of Career and Internship Services

Whether you’re searching for a first design job in an expanding or a retracting market, the same principles apply. Three NYSID students, Min Ae Choi (MFA1, graduating 2023), Antonio Harris (MFA1, graduating 2023), and Melida Valera (MFA1, graduating 2024) offer insights about their recent internships at great firms and how they landed them. Sacsha Flowers, NYSID’s Career Services and Internship Coordinator, shares tips that will give you an edge as you compete for your dream internship. 

Min Ae Choi  

MFA1, Graduating 2023 

Gensler 

When Min Ae Choi applied to the Gensler Summer Internship Program—one of the most coveted internships in the industry—she didn’t know a soul at the company. She got an interview based on the strength of her portfolio and resume, and after one interview, she was offered the job. It’s important to point out that she was extremely proactive in the preparation of her materials. She began assembling her portfolio in her first year at NYSID and continued to refine it. She arranged a meeting with Sacsha Flowers, NYSID’s Career Services and Internship Coordinator, who helped her fine-tune her resume to showcase her strengths and match the job description. Her best advice to students seeking internships is this: “Start looking early and get a sense of what kind of companies or firms you want to go for. Have targets, and have your materials prepared so that you are ready when the internships open up.” 

When we spoke with Choi over the summer, she was in the third week of the eight-week summer internship program at Gensler’s New York office. “I did an internship in a small boutique firm last year. My experience this summer is completely different, as Gensler’s program is extremely structured.” Choi says. “There are 30+ design and architecture interns from schools all over the country. There is a four-day orientation that includes two full days of technical training on Revit.” She adds, “Gensler has developed its own set of tools within Revit. These tools really accelerate the process around design specifications and test fits. When I realized this, it was a ‘wow’ moment.” 

Choi’s internship is in “Work Studio 5,” a workplace design team. She says, “As an intern, I am pulled into whatever urgent tasks arise. For one project, I am helping with site surveying. For another, I am monitoring and documenting the FF&E choices. Another project is in the construction document phase. It’s the variety of exposures I am getting that’s so valuable.” The interior designer and architect in Work Studio 5 who interviewed her are her formal mentors (or rather, “buddies” as they are called at Gensler). They make themselves available to guide her whenever she has a question.  

Twice a week, Gensler provides educational sessions for all of its interns. For these sessions, the company calls on its internal experts, from subject-specific experts from the Gensler Design Institute, to company executives. Choi was able to meet with and learn from Gensler’s co-CEO, Diane Hoskins, at one of these sessions. Says Choi, “I am inspired by Gensler’s people culture. It’s very open, inclusive, and collaborative, perhaps because it’s an employee-owned company.” 

Antonio Harris  

MFA1, Graduating 2023 

Rockwell Group 

Antonio Harris’ internship found him. He didn’t have to search a single job board to find his ideal intern position at the New York office of Rockwell Group. Harris is the President of NYSID’s campus chapter of IIDA, the nation’s largest professional organization for commercial interior designers. During the height of the pandemic, Harris wanted to create a unique networking experience for his peers in his role as the leader of NYSID’s IIDA chapter. So he sought out a virtual tour of a company he admired. He did extensive research and identified a top-tier architecture and design firm. He connected with Barry Richards, studio leader and principal of Rockwell Group. Rockwell is best known for its interdisciplinary design work, ranging from restaurants, hotels, and resorts to cultural and educational institutions, including museum exhibitions and Broadway sets. Richards is the leader of one of Rockwell’s studios that is multidisciplinary and designs hospitality projects that positively impact neighborhoods. These projects might include schools, museums, playgrounds, train stations—public spaces that have the potential to improve the lives of all members of a community. 

Barry Richards accepted Harris’ invitation to do a virtual tour and talk for NYSID students, and he was impressed with the depth of Harris’ research. The two got to talking while planning the event. Harris, a veteran of the US Air Force and Texas Air National Guard, also has an extensive background in fashion PR and merchandising, expressly event production and management. Richards recognized that Harris had transferable skills of value to Rockwell Group. He made some calls. After a two-week interview and onboarding process, Harris was offered an internship in Rockwell’s Marketing and Communications department internally known as the “PR Studio.” He began on November 1, 2021. 

“They really throw you in at Rockwell,” says Harris, “and I love that.” Harris did whatever was asked of him in the PR Studio, but he was delighted to find that much of this work was high concept, high value, and very meaningful. Rockwell’s PR Studio encompasses the firm’s global communications and press strategy worldwide in addition to special projects such as client gifting. Rockwell creates custom objects for its clients in its own “Model Shop.” Harris found himself taking the lead on designing custom project-opening gifts for specific clients, such as a miniature lantern inspired by a premiere Japanese restaurant opening in Las Vegas. This task gave him experience in branding, as well as the design and production of ornamental objects. He also assisted with several of Rockwell’s strategic partnerships in support of major nonprofits around cause-driven design events, such as DIFFA, an organization that supports people impacted by HIV/AIDS, and Citymeals on Wheels. Harris was enlisted to design Rockwell’s VIP lounge at DIFFA’s biggest annual fundraising event, and to source furniture for the space. 

After the initial three-month internship, Harris got an invitation to continue to intern with Rockwell. “I thought to myself, There’s no way I am leaving Rockwell,” he recalls. He was thrilled with his experience in the PR studio but wanted to diversify his exposure. Rockwell offered him a full-time internship with 50 percent of his time in the PR studio and 50 percent of his time in the design studio lead by Barry Richards. Now, he does a bit of everything: concept discovery, research, and assembly, refining presentation materials, sourcing and selecting FF&E, and participating in client meetings. Under the auspices of Richards, Harris is currently working on the design of a children’s museum and famous Harlem restaurant brand’s first location in New Jersey. In Barry Richards, Harris has found a true mentor. 

Says Harris, “The best aspects of my experience at Rockwell have been my observation of the processes, the studio environment and opportunity to collaborate with like-minded people on meaningful work, and accessibility to coveted projects.” He adds, “Rockwell’s culture is one of inspiring projects that have huge benefits for people.” His advice to interior design students seeking internships is this: “Find a meaningful connection to the work—look beyond aesthetic appeal and consider, more importantly, the footprint of the impact. This will keep you open to possibilities.” 

Melida Valera  

MFA1, Graduating 2024 

dash design 

Melida Valera is maximizing her time at NYSID, saying “yes” to networking experiences of many kinds. She is the Holland & Sherry Diversity in Design Scholarship winner from NYSID for the 2022-23 academic year. She’s vice president of the NYSID Graduate Association, Student Coordinator for the Alumni Council, and an active member of the College’s chapters of ASID and IIDA. On top of all that, she joined an external chapter of a professional organization called NEWH (the hospitality industry network). 

Though she now lives in New York, she mistakenly attended a virtual event of the New England NEWH. This error turned out to be a lucky move. She made a contact who invited her to post her resume to the organization’s job board and take advantage of their career services (members are invited to do this for free for one month). Almost immediately, she heard from dash design, a small and prestigious firm with offices in New York City, that specializes in hospitality, working on hotel, restaurant, senior living, and multifamily design. The internship lined up with her interests, and the size and reputation of the firm appealed to her. 

She says, “I wanted experience at a smaller firm and dash has 20 to 30 employees. I wanted to make sure my voice mattered, to really get in there and have the opportunity to learn and grow.” she adds, “One reason to work at dash is the founder David Ashen. Even as an intern, you have access to him. He is relatable, polite, and treats us as peers rather than subordinates. Having the opportunity to collaborate with him directly as an intern has been an honor.” 

Valera, who started at dash on May 10 and worked there throughout the summer, touched every project the office worked on, in all phases. She coordinated vendor communications for a hotel project in Boston meant to have a residential feel. She said, “Resimercial Design is really booming.” She described dash’s culture as one in which “everyone’s voice matters,” and says she felt extremely empowered to assert herself and defend her design decisions even if someone senior to her initially disagreed. She told the story of being tasked with putting together a presentation of FF&E materials under the guidance of Design Director Kristin Cullen ’05 (AAS), a NYSID alumna. Cullen questioned her choice of an image in the presentation, stating she didn’t quite get it, and Valera was able to explain how the image related to the concept. The team ultimately included this image, and many of Valera’s ideas in the final presentation. “Defending my stance as a designer and having it accepted and encouraged was a growth experience. It’s just a very respectful environment,” said Valera. 

Valera was invited to continue her employment with dash design but decided instead to focus on her studies this fall, and her responsibilities as a leader of the NYSID Graduate Association. Valera reflects, “The dash team has a plethora of knowledge. There’s a lot to learn there.”