If you were, then you finally got to meet me! And if you weren't, well then, you didn't, haha. The Dean's Reception was so so so much fun! I had a blast talking and hanging out with high school seniors (and their families) who are considering the College of Design at the U of M for college next year!

First we started off with the multicultural information session which was very informative and interesting. Fredrick, the new director of the Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence gave a presentation on all that MCAE has to offer. It was delightful meeting him and learning about various resources the university has to offer for multicultural students.

After that I got a chance to mingle a little and talk with different students and their families over lunch. What I loved about the Dean's Reception most was how casual it was! It made it really easy to get to know people and have some good conversation without feeling nervous or awkward.

The next thing we did was set up for major sessions! Basically, each discipline went to their section of the Design building and displayed work, etc. We heard from the Interior Design department head, Dr. Tasoulla Hadjiyanni! She was so nice and knowledgeable, it was certainly a treat hearing from her!

After major sessions, I chatted with design professionals, prospectives students and their families and answered any questions they had about their admitted programs.

If you didn't catch my drift, Saturday was super fun! If you were at the Reception, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought!

best,
Ashley
Interior Design

If you've been keeping up with my blog, then you know I work in the College of Design's Student Services. At the beginning of the semester, my boss (Lucy Reile) gave me a pretty interesting assignment - plan an internship panel. Yup! Those were my instructions, the rest was up in the air! But I wasn't on my own entirely, instead I teamed up with another student worker from Career & Internship Services, Rah Riley. (FYI- She's awesome!)

Over the past few weeks, Rah and I have been meeting about 2-3 times a week to plan the panel. We had to do things like research current College of Design students to find potential panelists, order catering, reserve a location, and work with the Student Services graphic designer, Patrick Puckett. (A fellow blogger and my cubicle mate who is also very awesome!) It was such a good experience getting to plan an event from start to finish, especially being that I'm still just a student worker! I got to learn first hand what kinds of things work when planning events, what things won't fly, and overall I got a feeling for if I like event planning overall!

The event is this Wednesday and I am super excited! I can't wait to see everyone's handwork payoff!

And speaking of events, I hope you know about the Dean's Reception! If you don't, check out this link. It's this Saturday, and I'm actually presenting which I am very excited about! It's open to prospective students and their families, so worth checking out! :)

Until the next,

Ashley
Interior Design

Everyone says it, but scholarships are one of the most important things for students to keep on their radar throughout (and before) their college career. I mean, think about it. A lot of scholarships only take matter of moments to fill out, some have you write essays, others require coursework, etc. But when you really think about it, most scholarships are relatively easy to apply for and have major payoff in the end.

I just applied to the DHA Continuing Education Scholarship, which is offered through the University's College of Design. It required a form, a written statement, and a resume as the bare minimum.

Prior to applying for this scholarship, I spent a lot of time hitting up the Career and Internship Services in McNeal where they hold "Resume Doctors" and drop in hours where you can bring in your resumes and have them critiqued and proofread. I probably went to drop in hours for my resume about 3 times in the span of a week, and I'm not even kidding. But it's great because it's a free resource and the peer advisors are always knowledgeable and eager to help.

After having turned in my scholarship materials, I felt very confident in my application materials because with a little help, I now have a resume that's eye-catching, properly formatted, and pretty much awesome. Thank goodness for Career and Internship Services!

Ashley
Interior Design

Interior design studio (IDES 1602) is definitely keeping me pretty busy this semester. The cycle pretty much works in a way where we get a project, work on it for about two weeks, turn it in/present and repeat. Although it keeps me very busy, I really enjoy this cycle because it allows for continuous learning and we avoid wasting any time.

So far this semester, we've been focusing on proportion systems and color theories. It's exciting to learn about these things because they are directly related to interior design and can be observed all of the time and basically anywhere!

We've completed two projects this semester. The first one was a project where we looked for the elements and principles of design in magazines online. It's funny, because back in junior high and high school when I first learned about the elements and principles, I never thought I'd need to know that stuff again. Boy was I wrong! Elements and principles are everywhere, and surprisingly so.

The other project we completed consisted of three parts. The first thing we did was find proportion systems in real life, magazines/online. Again, you would never think that there was such a science behind interior design, but there totally is! (Click here if you're curious and want to see a little video about it.) The other parts of the project were designing a stained glass window and a IDES 1602 logo, while utilizing proportioning systems, of course!

Here are photos of my logo and stained glass window designs!

Take care,
Ashley
Interior Design

So, a week or so ago, I went to an informational session for a program called "National Student Exchange". Similarly to study abroad programs, NSE is a program that gives students the opportunity to study at another college/university in the nation (or even Canada). Something especially cool about NSE is that a lot of the time you still get to pay the tuition of the U, even if it's cheaper than going to the school you decide on! I was looking at a few schools in various places, and chances are if I go at all, it will just be for one semester. I love the U of M and I love the Twin Cities, I'm not even sure I'll want to go anywhere else for an entire semester. But if I do, it's nice to know the U has my back and such programs exist to make experiences like this possible.

In the next couple of weeks, I'm going to make sure I do some research on studying abroad, as in entirely out of the country. I want to compare my favorite schools from each option and make a decision based on what I find.

I know I have plenty of time because I probably won't leave until Spring 2014 in accordance with my 4-year gradation plan, but it's honestly never too early to start in on these things because it will only leave you with an advantage.

I'll let you know my thoughts when I've researched study abroad!

Ashley
Interior Design

Until next time,
Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

It went so well! I got plenty of sleep the night before and woke up well rested and ready to start my day. It's nice because my roommate and I both have 8:30 AM class in St. Paul on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We woke up at about the same time, got ready, had breakfast and coffee, and then hopped on the campus connector St. Paul bound. We arrived on the St. Paul campus with time to spare so we were both about 10 minutes early to our first classes of the day. I liked being early to my first class because it gave me time to settle down and get my note taking materials prepared. I also got to do some socializing and catching up with fellow students that I hadn't seen in about a month which I enjoyed!

Today I had my Interior Design Lecture and Studio (IDES 1602) and I also had my Foundations of Color studio (GDES 1312). Everything went really well in all of my classes--nothing out of the ordinary, just your usual syllabus review and get to know you stuff.

In IDES 1602 lecture, we went over the Elements and Principles of design and then during studio, we got our first assignment. In GDES 1312, we did some general get to know you stuff, then we broke into groups and each created a design out of sample paint chips which was an interesting and refreshing task! Here's a picture of my group and our paint chip design!

Tomorrow I have Fundamentals of Management (MGMT 3001) and Multichannel Retailing (RM 2215). MGMT 3001 will be my first class on the west bank in over a year, but I'm definitely excited for the change of pace! Afterwards I'll head back to good old St. Paul for RM 2215 in Ruttan Hall.

I'm sure tomorrow will go just as well as today did, but wish me luck!

Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

I can't even believe it! Classes are in less than a week. In my last few days of freedom, I'm doing my best to balance work, relaxation and preparation for the new semester.

I've been working in the office like usual over break which has been nice. It's definitely been very quiet in McNeal the past few weeks since students are on holiday, but that provides staff with time to get ready for next semester. Mostly, I just work on projects for office personnel and advisors, and sometimes if there's nothing else, I get to read or work on my own things. I've also been working at Urban over break. It's been crazy in our store with the holiday season, and especially around New Year's Eve since so many girls were looking for dresses! Things are settling down there again though, and my work days are more enjoyable again.

I've definitely been relaxing a lot too. Last week I was sick and basically bedridden, so I lounged like a champ. All day, everyday for at least three days. I felt like such a bum, but now that I've regained my health I've been combating the laziness with trips to the rec center and walks around the neighborhood with my roommate. I'm feeling revved up for the new semester because of being well rested and getting into the habit of working out.

And speaking of the new semester, I've been using spare time over winter break to get prepared and situated for the next semester. Two weeks ago I nailed down my absolute final schedule for spring, so I'll be taking Fundamentals of Management (MGMT 3001), Interior Design Studio II (IDES 1602), Multichannel Retailing (RM 2215), and Foundations of Color (GDES 1312). It's going to be an interesting, but tough semester. Today I plan on picking up my books and school supplies, and overall just organizing all things school related. I plan out cleaning out my laptop too just because I think getting stuff like that out of the way now will decrease distraction when school is in session.

Until next time,
Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

So it's 2012 and one of my New Year's resolutions was to save money. I work two jobs, but it's crazy because I fly through money faster than I make it. This is mostly due to going out to eat far too often, shopping, and just not really managing my funds properly. Granted I pay rent and utilities, I should still have more money left over than I ever end up with. It's just my second year in college and my first year living in an apartment, but even so, it's about time I change my ways and form good habits for money management.

For starters, I'm going to start investing more in groceries. Today my roommate and I went grocery shopping and each of us dropped quite a bit of cash, but at the end up the day, the money spent on groceries will go much farther than five dollar sandwiches and 10 dollar entrees. While grocery shopping, we also picked up a huge package of coffee grounds. I always find myself stopping for coffee and spending 2-5 bucks a day on my coffee. By buying the coffee grounds and making coffee at home instead, I think I'll save a bunch of money there.

Entertainment is essential in my book, but spending all my cash in order to have a good time simply isn't worth it. It's really nice because the U of M has a program called Live Like a Student Now So You Don't Have to Later (LLAS). On their website they have bits about financial advice, g ideas for what to do for fun and free (or super cheap), and you can even sign up for their mailing list to get emails containing tips, tricks, and updates.

Hopefully by cutting costs by grocery shopping more than going out to eat as well as doing things suggested by LLAS, I think I'll be able to save a hearty chunk of change. I'm so excited for this!

Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

And a good one, overall. Usually, when the holiday season rolls in, there is a mediocre amount of excitement in the Ochiagha household. My family and I anticipate the season, but no one is too incredibly excited. This year though, things were a little different. I'm not sure if we caught the holiday bug, but Christmas vibes were in the air. While me and my brother were away at our colleges, my mom and dad got the house decked and jazzed. Usually, I'm in charge of putting up the tree and decorating it, but I'll admit, my dad did good work. Another thing that was different about this year were the legitimate presents under the tree. This hasn't happened in years because usually all that goes under there are two envelopes addressed to my brother and I. Inside of these envelopes, a nice chunk of change, and the end, Christmas is over. Like I was saying though, this year we had so many gifts under the tree because everyone in my family went out and bought tangible gifts for each other.

I got my dad two sweaters, my brother a faux-leather jacket, and my mom a Chi flat iron. Everyone was very pleased with their presents! In return, I got a cozy and plush blanket, a pair of diamond earrings, and 100 dollars of FlexDine. I laughed when I saw the FlexDine certificate because I was so surprised my parents even remembered that was a thing. FlexDine is basically campus dollars that can be spent in various food places on campus. It's especially nice because it's linked with your UCard and it's untaxed. Looks like lunch is on my parents for the next month at least!

How's your holiday season going? Comment and let me know!

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!

Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

Whew! What a relief to finally be done with finals! I had my last one on Wednesday morning, bright and early at 8 AM. It was kind of nice because I had two finals on the last day of each class for my Design Thinking (1101W) class and Drawing (1311). Then I had my Interior Design (1601) final/presentation on Saturday morning. From then until Wednesday, I had plenty of time to study for what was probably one of my harder exams. With all that time, I spent my days in various study spaces on campus including Coffman, Walter Library, The Purple Onion, Espresso Expose, and my cozy, little apartment to name a few. Hard work payed off because my exam was a breeze! Not because it was easy to begin with, but because I tactfully studied. For instance, the day before the final, I met with my professor Dr. Kim Johnson and she help me to review. She also gave me two good pieces of advice which were simple but powerful. One being to get lots of sleep for the night before, and two being not to have any caffeine before the exam. I listened, and I felt great the next day! Well rested, well prepared, and ready overall. I'm definitely applying those two tips to my semesters to come because they really worked!

Grades are due from professors on December 29th, and I'm pretty excited to start seeing what I got for final grades in all of my classes.

Happy Holidays Everyone! Talk to you again soon :)

Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

I declared a minor in retail merchandising! I am so excited!! Such a minor focuses on some of the business aspects of fashion. The reason I chose this minor is because it's good fit for my interests and personality as well as my major. After I graduate, I'm not 100% sure what I want to do, but I could see myself doing store planning or something else that ties fashion into interior design. I honestly might even add on the fashion studies minor because it would only add a few more credits onto the retail merchandising minor and it would bundle up more of what I love into one awesome package.

Overall, I am just so happy that I'm finally getting to figure things out academically! I've been stressing up and down this semester trying to solidify my track, and through the use of many resources and lots of thinking, I was able to shake things out and nail something down.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I'm pretty much a regular in the Career & Internship Services office for CDes. In addition, I've been meeting with my adviser, Wanda and talking to other office personnel where I work. My boss, Lucy Reile, the College to Career Coordinator, has helped me bunches!! She's gotten me in touch with multiple professionals and I've met with a few to do informational interviews. Informationals have definitely been one of the most crucial and helpful things I've done to help with figuring things out.

Now that I'm on a clear track of interior design with a retail merchandising minor, I feel I have plowed a path to success. I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me!

Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

Well, IDES1601 has been working and chipping away at our last project of the semester. The task of this final assignment is to design a yoga studio for women. Asides from that, our instructors have let our minds run wild! We get to determine the location of the yoga studio. We get to choose how many people it will serve, what type of atmosphere it is, what colors might be used. Last but not least, we get to plan all of the interior space including the floor plan!!

This is such an exciting time in the year for us interior design students because we're getting a chance to apply everything we've learned throughout the semester to one big, comprehensive assignment where we can show off our knowledge, skill set, and overall ability.

I decided to name my yoga studio "Twist 6 Yoga Studios". In my opinion as well as others' I gathered through research and interviews, the word "twist" encompasses a fun vibe while simultaneously reflecting what the body does when doing yoga. The "6" comes from the concept of having two small yoga rooms in my studio where parties of six or less will be able to do yoga in a private, and more intimate setting.

At this stage, I'm nailing down a solid plan of what I want my floor plan to look like. From there, I'll be able to decide on preliminary placement of furniture, lighting etc.

Below are some pictures of my progress so far!

Until next time,
Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

If I were making a list of the top five reasons I love my school, professional development opportunities would definitely be in it. Basically, professional development is a fancy way of saying getting in touch with professionals as a resource and learning tool. The U of M provides a ton of opportunities to meet and network with professionals from every field and area of study under the sun.

Tomorrow night I'm going to The State of the Interior Design Profession that is being held downtown and I'm way stoked! This event is a book signing and we will also be hearing from the author as well as others in the field (even the U's very own Dr. Guerin who co-authored!) Being a first year interior design student myself, I think an event like this will be of great help to me when it comes to figuring out what I want to do after graduation. With a degree like interior design (or any of the other design degrees for that matter) the opportunities, options, and possibilities are endless. There are various career paths people take post graduation. Going to an event like the one I'll be attending tomorrow will be very beneficial for me because step one is actually knowing what my options will be.

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

Over the past week, I've been feeling a little under the weather. You know, just your typical coughing, sneezing, sleepy bit. I tried the usual over the counter stuff at first as well as just trying to sleep it off, but nothing availed. Finally I realized it would probably be a good idea to take a quick trip to the doctor.

Luckily, right on campus we have Boynton Health Services. Basically, this is a health facility/clinic offered to students, staff, faculty etc. on campus. They have locations on the East Bank as well as St. Paul. Since pretty much all of my classes as well as my job are over in St. Paul, I stopped there on Thursday.

The doctors there were all super nice and caring as well as very knowledgeable and informed. I hardly had to wait 5 minutes to see a doctor, and overall, the examination only took about 45 minutes total. Turns out it was just a weird bug, but I got prescribed an anti-biotic and I was able to pick them up at the Pharmacy located inside of the East Bank Boynton.

Thank goodness Boynton exists, because getting home would have been a major hassle! Since my visit, I've been doing what the doctor instructed, and I'm feeling so much better!

Ashley Ochiagha
Interior Design

7:00 AM - WAKE UP! Get ready, get coffee.

8:00 AM - Departure. Catch the campus connector, a shuttle that takes students/professors/etc. to and from different parts of campus.

8:30 AM - Lecture: Interior Design, course number 1601. It entails learning various things we will need for each upcoming project and/or assignment. Today we learned about Codes and Building Guidelines.

9:20 AM - I've got a little break. Today I headed up to the Interior Design studio because I wanted to get some work out of the way. A few other classmates were working in there too-- that's always nice for bouncing ideas off each other.

10:15 AM - Lecture: Intro to Design Thinking, course number 1101W. Love this class! Our lecture today was on Design Theories.

11:30 AM - Another break, this one is tiny. Perfect for a quick a little snack. Vending machine, here I come!

11:45 AM - Studio time! Interior Design studio is a favorite. Class time to work on assignments and a Teaching Assistant is there to help and learn from? Yes please!

1:40 PM - Another break! LUNCH TIME! I've also got a thing for Subway so that's where I'm headed. $5 foot long, hey hey hey!

2:00 PM - Time for work! I head over to 12 McNeal and Lucy and I go over goals for the day. Today we did some prep work for an event on Wednesday.

4:30 PM - Done with work. Back to the studio to finish an assignment! I feel so productive there so I'm really happy we have access to it basically 24/7.

6:30 PM - Done! Now it's back to the East bank to meet friends for dinner! Punch Pizza was calling our names', so that's where we went.

8:00 PM -- Today I tried out Espresso Royale, a café in Dinkytown. I hit the books and got the rest of my homework done.

10:30 PM -- Heading home!

10:50 PM -- Time for bed! I'll be up and at 'em early tomorrow.

On Friday, I gave a tour for prospective students and their families. (Hi to anyone who came and found my blog after that!) It was a good time because I always love showing people all of the awesome studios and student work encased in McNeal hall.

After my tour, I came home and power-napped for what would be a fun filled night. After I was well rested, my friends and I headed to the Homecoming pep fest where Atmosphere performed. Somehow I managed to get second row standing space! It was definitely a night to remember since Atmosphere is one of my favorite groups and I had never gotten the opportunity to see them live.

On Saturday I had another busy day filled with the football game against Nebraska. It was my first football game of the year and it was so much fun! I think next year I might get season tickets.

After the game I met up with a few of my cousins and we went to a step show for some of the Fraternities and Sororities on campus. It was definitely very entertaining!

Once the step show was over, my cousins and I went back to my place to get dolled up for a night on the town! Downtown is always a nice change of pace for every once in awhile, and with our bus passes, it was super easy to get there and back!

This weekend with Halloween, I'm sure things will be just as lively as last...

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend to come!

Interior design studio (IDES 1601) is definitely one of the most interesting classes I've ever taken. From the beginning of the semester up until now, we've learned SO MUCH! For instance, we've learned about how to create concept statements about different designs, the elements and principles of design, how to do architectural lettering, and how to present work in front of an audience-- as well as so much more!

Here's a super awesome link to learn more about the interior design program here at the U!: http://www.design.umn.edu/prospective_students/programs/interior.html

This past week in interior design studio, we got a pretty cool assignment where we learned how to technically sketch to scale. This is obviously pretty important because when I become an interior designer, sketching to scale will be a necessary skill for me to do my job.

For the sake of the assignment, and considering this was our first time technically sketching, my class was assigned to sketch a studio table, a stapler, and a shoe box. With our handy dandy scale devices, tape measures and trusty mechanical pencils, my classmates and I went to work gathering measurements for each item and then scaling them down to little baby sketches (which I thought were adorable)!

I found this assignment to be very beneficial and helpful in learning how to properly use various tools in our interior design kits. Although challenging at some points, tasks like technical sketching will become second nature with practice, and eventually, less tools are needed too!

I was super impressed with my finished products, and I definitely can't wait to start working on technically sketching rooms with walls, windows, doors and other building features.

As I've mentioned before, I have a work-study job in the Student Services office of the College of Design. I am the assistant of the College to Career Coordinator, Lucy Reile. The College to Career program is way awesome because it allows students to connect with design professionals in their industry of choice. Connections like that go a long, long way because you get first hand advice from people who were once in your shoes.

These past few weeks, Lucy and I have been busy putting together all of the necessary things for the CDes Mentor Program. Basically, this program matches juniors and seniors in the College of Design with design professionals who they will be able to relate with, get advice from, and even hang out with. As of now, we're putting the finishing touches together and getting all of the Mentors and Mentees paired. November 2nd is the Mentor Program Kick-Off is and I am beyond excited to see all of the pairs meet for the first time and start getting to know each other! I can't wait to be a junior so I can participate in this program!

It started with working over in Uptown on Sunday morning. Usually I use my UPass
and take the bus to and from work, but I ended up having a free cab fare coupon so I
tried that out and it went well!

After I got home, I had a couple different homework assignments to work on. I did
some sketches for interior design studio collage I was working on, then I did some
different style drawings for another one of my classes. I also wrote a rough draft for
a short essay I was assigned. I felt SO accomplished after getting all that done and
I decided to reward myself by going to the Coffman Student Union to catch a movie
and snag some free food with a couple of friends.

On Tuesday, a girl from my interior design studio and I hopped on the bus to go
downtown so we could check out an art supply store. We got what we needed for
our collage assignments and stopped at a cute little coffee shop for some sweets and
caffeine before heading back home on the bus.

On Thursday, I had a meeting with an advisor in the Career & Internship Services
office in between classes. It's nice that the office is right in McNeal Hall, so I didn't
even have to leave the building to go to my appointment.

At my meeting, Heidi and
I discussed some steps I should take to help me decide on different career goals
as well as good minors I could pair with a degree in interior design. It was a very
helpful session and I plan on going in sometime next week to chat more.

Also on Thursday, I went to a Rogue Valley and Jeremy Messersmith concert
put on by Student Unions & Activities and it was free! I love live music and the
performances were great, so it made for a really good time!

Today is Friday, and luckily I was able to sleep in! Catching those extra Z's was a
real treat. So far I've done some tidying around the apartment and a little bit of
homework. I'll probably go over to Dinkytown for some coffee before returning
to my drawings. I'll plow through some assignments this afternoon before finding
some sort of adventure for the night!

Ciao for now!

I'm Ashley, 19 years old, and a Minnesota native. I'm a pre-interior design student in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. I'm a sophomore here at the U, and this is my first year studying interior design. (So far, so good!)

Interior design is something I've always loved, and something I've had a passion for especially in the last 3 years of my life. I think what I love most about interior design is how it incorporates problem solving with creativity. I also love that after graduation I'll have many different career options.

In addition to being a student, I also have a work-study position in the Student Services office of the College of Design, which I absolutely love! I work as an office assistant for the College to Career Program that is especially great because I complete a wide variety of tasks during each shift.

Last year I lived in Pioneer hall, or "Pio" as us students call it. It's a dorm located on the east bank's "superblock". Living in the dorms was a great experience (especially as a freshman), because it gave me a chance to meet new people and slowly transition from home life to college life. This year I am living in my first apartment! It's a huge transition from being at home or in the dorms, but at the same time, I really enjoy the change of pace and new atmosphere.

What more can I say? Obviously I have a strong interest in interior design, but in addition to that, I'm also a lover of fashion! I love love LOVE shopping and reading fashion magazines. I also enjoy DIY projects, art, baking, reading, movies, photography, and random adventures with friends.

That's all for now, but you'll hear from me soon!