With this year’s influx of freshmen in the Interior Architecture degree program, more community opportunities have arisen for the Art and Design Department to expand, such as an official student chapter reboot. One student involved in this process is Madelyn Bowman, a sophomore majoring in interior architecture.
“My main goal with this is creating a community within our major… Because specifically in design, you are working with the people that you went to school with five years ago, or they know somebody that you went to school with. It’s so interconnected with architects, engineers, and designers that I want us to get a taste of what [groups] can be and how uplifting it can be before we get out [into the workforce],” Bowman said.
“I am not involved in any other clubs or anything, and so I kind of wanted to get more involved in the campus and then within the major. I think it’s vital for all of us to communicate with each other because it’s such a hands-on [profession],” Bowman said. “[Freshmen] specifically can learn so much from the upperclassmen, but they don’t have any classes with us. So I kind of want to make it so there’s a set time for all of us to get together and hang out. If [someone] needs help with stuff, they can get help, or we can go look at showrooms and just kind of bring the major specifically together.”
Amy Beauchamp, the program director for Interior Architecture as well as the chair for the School of Visual Art and Design, is the sponsor for the group.
“[The role] is being able to help steer some of the conversation with maybe the officers and how they run their meetings and just more like the administrative behind the scenes. [I] help make sure that they’re kind of on the right track and help the new chapter flourish as best as it can and to get people involved and make connections with other alumni that are in the area,” Beauchamp said. “So, being able to connect them with different reps or different firms or individual designers, companies that they may not have actual knowledge of.”
Bringing this chapter back, Bowman and Beauchamp explain, brings many fresh opportunities to the table, such as networking, outreach, and experience.
“I hope [students] will start to get involved a little bit more in the Edmond, Oklahoma City environment. So not only with the professionals and the different showrooms and the different trades, but I would also love to see them get involved in some community service things as well that tie back to design,” Beauchamp said.
“I hope it creates an area where it can be used as a soundboard for everyone there. If you’re struggling with a project or like finding an internship or something, then that group…can help each other prepare for the career world,” Bowman said.
Over the weekend, a group of students took a trip around the Edmond, Oklahoma area, visiting several houses for the Parade of Homes, which occurred this weekend. Other activities like this are being brainstormed.
“I know for a fact we are going to focus on going out to showrooms and stuff… A lot of people either on or off campus don’t have cars, or it’s kind of scary to just show up to a place like that by yourself and be like, ‘I’m a student,’” Bowman said. “Then I thought about having a night where everybody can come together and show off their current project and have kind of like a critique night.”
Several steps must be taken before the chapter is officially recognized, including elections and a chosen affiliation between professional organizations such as the American Society of Interior Designers and the International Interior Design Association. However, concerning the students working to reboot this chapter on campus, Beauchamp offered advice.
“Stay committed to it, for the benefit of themselves, for each other as classmates and [for] the profession. Because when they work hard at making those connections and try to get all of the classmen connected together for the sake of the profession, I just think that helps bolster what it is that they’re trying to accomplish. Ultimately, put in the hard work, stay focused on it, and encourage and build up the others. Because, I think, camaraderie builds on itself,” Beauchamp said.
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