Elyse’s Aspirations

This semester I am really looking forward to learning more technical and digital skills. I hope to gain from this class more background knowledge about design and learn from mechanical engineers. I think they have a lot to offer in regards to design and practicality. I want to be able to learn some of the skills engineers have, such as solidworks, and maybe learning to solder. In some of my other classes I want to gain more skills in before I graduate in two years are rhino, autocad, sketchup, 3D printing and using the laser cutter. By graduation I hope I have a broad variety of skills regarding design as a whole and feel confident at using my skills in the real world to get a fulfilling job. I feel like from now until then, I still have a lot of practical computer skills I would like to get better at.

In my very first job, I would love to work for a design firm that is doing something really creative. I wouldn’t mind working for a landscape design firm or something of the like, but would really love to work in industrial, graphic, or furniture design. Designing in most any form is my passion, and being a sophomore, I haven’t completely found my niche in design, or where I want to really focus in. Anywhere where I can work with creative, active people in a social environment sounds like a wonderful first job to me.

My dream job is what brought me CU Boulder in the first place, studying in Environmental Design. I would love to work for Disney at some point in my life. My main inspiration was wanting to design theme parks, zoos, museums, or aquariums. I have always loved these places as a kid (spending way too much time on Zoo Tycoon) and was constantly considering how these places could be improved and make the user experience more interactive and engaging. Designing theme parks, whether it is the surrounding landscape or the interior of a ride, is something that really sparks my imagination. My paradigm towards design has shifted so that my overall goal would be to design interactive experiences for people that allows them to have some sort of emotional reaction. I believe that design is first and foremost for people, so I would love to design to make peoples lives better on a deeper, emotional level. If I were to achieve my dream job, I suppose I would be titled a Themed Entertainment Designer. Even if I don’t accomplish my larger goals, I at least hope to be doing creative design projects that benefit other people throughout my lifetime.