Student Success - Lynlisa Jackson
NYIAD students are out there in droves decorating clients' homes, serving as consultants in department stores, and re-designing everything from metropolitan penthouses to lakeshore cottages. If you've started your own business, if you've been hired by a decorating firm, or if you've achieved success in some other way in the field of interior design, we want to hear from you! Click here to let us know about the waves you're making!
If you missed earlier installments of this series, here's your chance to read more about the accomplishments of NYIAD students. Just visit our NYIAD Student Success page.As every student knows, it pays to study for your classes.
But as NYIAD student Lynlisa Jackson found out, studying can also lead to a job, and more quickly than you may think.
Lynlisa got her first interior design job "by accident," as she puts it, when, in June of this year, she was celebrating her daughter's elementary school graduation with a school picnic in a park in Brooklyn, New York.
Ever the diligent student, Lynlisa of course had her NYIAD materials with her so she could sneak in a little study time.
"While I was reviewing the material, one of the other parents saw what I was reading and asked me if I was an interior designer. I told her that I was and she said that it must have been fate, because she really needed my help," Lynlisa said.
It wasn't only idle curiosity on the woman's part.
"She told me that she had a bed and breakfast that she was about to open in a couple of weeks and needed me to help her design the rooms in it. I was so excited because I had just started the NYIAD Course and here I was getting my first big job designing a bed and breakfast," she said.
While many NYIAD students are drawn to the field of interior design because they're primarily interested in art and design, Lynlisa's "love of math and angles" that made her a successful accountant contributed to her decision to pursue interior design. While she continues her NYIAD studies, she works as an accountant for a women's organization in New York.
As an accountant, Lynlisa knew the importance of looking into the price of an educational program, and the good value for the price was one factor that drew her to the NYIAD Course in Interior Design.
"I chose the NYIAD program because I was looking for a comprehensive course in interior design and something that I could study at home," she says. "I was also looking for a course that was reasonably priced. After my research I discovered that the NYIAD Course in Interior Design offered me more than the more expensive programs."
"The NYIAD Course has helped me realize my dream of becoming an interior designer. The course is very thorough in the materials. All you have to do is apply yourself."
Lynlisa particularly enjoys seeing the results from working in design.
"What I like best about what I am doing is the fact that I get to see things that I have designed come to fruition," she said. "I love making a difference in my clients' lives. It is very fulfilling because I finally have found something that I enjoy doing and I get paid to do what I like."
The more Lynlisa pursues her studies and her career, the more she enjoys the work, and the more certain she is that she made the right move in switching careers.
"I think my challenge in my work is really believing that this what I am meant to do," she says. "The more work I do, the more confident I am in my abilities. The NYIAD has help me gain that confidence."
Lynlisa plans to open her own design firm soon, working with realtors and their clients in designing their new homes or apartments.
"Just the other day someone asked me about a particular type of faucet and countertop for a client's home," she said. "I happened to have samples of some countertops at my home office so I told them that I would be happy to speak directly to their client and come into their home for a consultation. Now that felt really empowering!"
From there, "the sky is the limit on where my interior design business will go," she says.
"I finally have a way to do more for my family as well as my friends," she says. "I will be redesigning and renovating the home that I'm currently living in as well."
She encourages others to get into the NYIAD Complete Course in Interior Design, and then, of course, to study — both at home and in public!
"My best advice is that if you ever dreamed of becoming an interior designer, the NYIAD of Interior Design is a great tool for getting there. Who would have ever thought that an accountant would one day be an interior designer? Hey, if you had told me that six months ago, I would have never believed it!"
While most people believe interior desgin is for the artsy type, Lynlisa shows us that some people love it for the math and angles of it all. Lynlisa's love of math helped her excel in our Interior design classes and helped her achieve her dream.
