An ETSU program with less than 100 students hopes to see growth after becoming an official chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.
ASID aims to provide members with resources and a community of like-minded thinkers that will ease the transition from being a student to working in the professional world.
Alex Battle, the communications manager for the ETSU ASID chapter, shares that they have been working to bring a chapter to campus since August 2022.
“This connection and networking is so valuable to really amplify our voice as a major and our capabilities as… professionals,” Battle said.
Battle is extremely passionate in creating and maintaining a positive studio culture for interior architecture students at ETSU. That is, the atmosphere that is present within the studio, as well as the dynamic between students working in the space.
For students in interior architecture, classroom environments can get pretty tense, as the program relies heavily on comparisons of student work. In this way, Battle describes class as being more of a competition rather than a supportive learning environment, which she feels hurts the studio culture among her peers.
With the start of ASID on campus, Battle hopes to see the studio culture improve, bridging the gap between students of different classes and creating an open flow of dialogue, as well as “creating a major that’s actually fun and enjoyable”.
“Design is kind of a team sport and so really fostering and making that team strong here is a benefit each student will have,” Battle said.
Other benefits for joining ASID include access to resources, networking opportunities and student trips to famous architectural locations.
Considering the current size of the interior architecture program and the challenges that come with having a relatively low student population, Battle is hoping that ASID will be the revival that the program needs.
“What we really need right now is just the resources and credibility of being a design oriented school,” Battle said.
Students interested in joining ASID must have declared their major to be interior architecture and can attend the meetings held on the first Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. in studio 206 at Wilson-Wallis Hall. More information and updates are available via Instagram: @asidofetsu.
Battle strongly encourages everyone eligible to consider joining ASID, and those interested in design to consider the interior architecture major. While initially enrolled at ETSU to pursue business, Battle found her purpose when she found interior architecture, and hasn’t looked back since.
“This was the shift that I needed to find the joy of college,” Battle said. “One of the most magical things about this is the community that comes from it.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.