A few months ago, we visited our exchange visitor, Courtney, at his interior design internship with Janine Dowling Design, Inc. in Boston! Courtney is a university student from the U.K. and completing an internship abroad is a requirement for graduation. This experience has provided him with hand-on work experience and a new cultural perception. Read on to learn about Courtney’s journey!
What have you been doing here at work? What are some projects you’ve been working on?
At this moment, I work on 6 projects exclusively with Janine, which was been great. I love working on this project in Connecticut. It’s such a fun project; the couple loves more of a modern aesthetic. They have a beautiful house and the color scheme and style matches my own so it’s been fun to work on. I probably gave the most input, design-wise, on that project. It’s currently wrapping up so I’m seeing the work that I did back in January come to life so that’ been very exciting.
What have you learned so far that you would not have had the chance to learn otherwise?
The main thing I’ve learned is something you can’t learn in school, which is the people side of things. Some clients say yes to everything and trust you completely; they give you reigns. Some clients are particular. You really have to know them to understand [their style]. Janine’s been teaching me how to funnel what you think is best for a client through a conversation with them. She’s been really happy with the progress that we’ve made. She’s a great boss.
What have you learned about the arts, design, and/or culture in America?
Throughout my time in the United States, I have visited a range of different art galleries including the Harvard art gallery, MOMA in New York City, The Museum of fine arts Boston, and the ICA Boston, and taken part in a variety of cultural activities. From this I have learned that American culture has a diverse culture with more history than I first thought.
Your program was originally 6 months long, but you’ve chosen to extend it for a full year. Can you tell us why?
What I didn’t realize is how long it takes for a project to come to life. A couch, for example, can take up to 12 to 13 months to be developed because of Covid-19. Usually, it’s 8 to 9 months. I’m not going to see any progress within the next two to three months on a lot of the projects I’m working on, especially right now, so I decided to extend. Janine asked me to stay on and I wanted to see my creations come to life.
Craving an awesome exchange experience like Courtney’s? Send us an email for more information!