Name: SueSan

Year: Sophomore

Major: Manufacturing and Design Engineering

CFS Concentration: Field Studies in Civic Engagement

I decided to apply to Chicago Field Studies two weeks before the year started and I feel really lucky that it has worked out so well. This quarter, I have been taking classes Tuesdays and Thursdays and interning at Beyond Design, an industrial design consulting firm, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The company uses the human-centered design process to solve problems and create products for clients from a variety of different industries.

When I was first considering the program, I looked into wide range of companies, from non-profits, to management consulting, to advertising. When I learned students could still do CFS with organizations that weren’t already affiliated with the program, I decided to take the opportunity to apply to industrial design firms, a popular industry for students of my major.

At my internship so far, I have learned how to use various types of sketching and modeling software, participated in SDP (strategic design process) brainstorming, and researched and analyzed competitor products. Most of my work has been assisting coworkers with their responsibilities of a project, and I hope in the future I can take more ownership over a stage of the design process.

Though I haven’t been doing what a full-time industrial designer does at the company, I have loved everything I have gotten to learn and do so far and I am really excited to take on more. I am so thankful that I have gotten this opportunity to explore professional industrial design through CFS, because this experience has confirmed that I want to do product design as my future career. This year, I look forward to taking classes that will help me develop more skills for this industry and look for summer internships that will continue this experience.