NYSID’s summer Pre-College program is always a highlight of our year on campus, and this year was no exception. For Summer 2022, 66 high school students attended Pre-College I and 18 continued on to Pre-College II. Among the attendees were student recipients of the Kravet Pipeline/Kips Bay scholarship, attendees from NYSID’s “Open Doors to Design” program with YWCA (some returning for a second year) and additional scholarship recipients thanks to the generosity of many donors.

The group represented a wonderful mix of high school students from sophomore through seniors, both US and international as well as on-site and online learners. Some began the program already knowing their ultimate goal is to be an interior designer, while for others pre-college was expanding their knowledge of what the options are for careers which encourage creativity and self-expression.

Led by NYSID faculty members Francisco DeLeon (who also serves as pre-college director). Don Kossar and Pamela Giolito, each 10-day program provides invaluable experience and exposure to the interior design industry. This summer the group was fortunate to meet and hear presentations by industry notables Jamie Drake, Leyden Lewis, Nicole Pucci of Ralph Pucci International, Charles Zelaya of Sicis, Luca Baraldo of Cookfox, Barry Richards of The Rockwell Group and The Kravet Design Studio. The group also visited showrooms such as The Kravet Design Studio, Lee Jofa, Maya Romanoff, Baccarat, THG, and Phillip Jefferies. In addition, they visited the Regency Hotel., the Plaza, Tao Restaurant and a high end Dental Office on Park Avenue.

Industry Icon Jamie Drake’s Top 4 Things You Need To Be a Successful Interior Designer:

• Be open to growth

• Listen to clients

• Analyze problems and questions before answering

• Be willing to embrace change

The Pre-College experience is broken into two sessions. Pre-College I is an introduction to interior design where students learn the fundamentals of residential design. The final project entails designing an apartment. Pre-College II takes the Pre-College I goes a bit more in-depth about interior design, and shifts focus towards commercial design. Students design a small space cafe or hotel lobby as a final project. Visit nysid.edu/precollege for images of this year’s program.

 If you know a high school student interested in attending future pre-college programs, please contact precollege@nysid.edu.