Do those throw pillows work with the bedding? How about the frame of the painting – does it compliment the sconces above the bed? Those questions are typically low stakes home decorating fun. But for Grace Nothnagle '24, her career depended on the right answers. The clock is ticking...
Nothnagle was given a shopping cart and these instructions: go through the store and pick out anything you want from vases to wall art. Next, decorate this bedroom, dining area, and living space. Feel free to hammer holes into the wall. Create the best look you can. You've got 90 minutes.
"It was pretty stressful. I used every last second of the time they gave me."
Nothnagle's dream job is to work for an interior design firm, but she knows that those jobs often go to professionals with 7+ years in the business. She needed a place to get her foot in the door, but first – she needed a resume.
The visual art and design major met with staff at the MacDonnell Career and Internship Center three times in three days during Senior Week to strategize a job search and polish her resume, and once more later in the month for interview prep. Nothnagle had put quite a bit of effort into the job search throughout the spring, but the Career and Internship Center services provided a boost. Her resume earned her an interview with Ashley HomeStore outside of Rochester, and after an initial call, Nothnagle was one of 10 finalists called in for the final test. The Career and Internship Center helped get her that far, academic preparedness and instinct would have to take over from there.
Nothnagle was applying for a job as an interior designer at the home furnishings store, the same store she went to a couple of times as a kid growing up in the suburbs south of Rochester. The in-house interior designer coordinates displays that are meant to inspire shoppers and highlight the inventory. Of the 10 finalists put through the crucible of the high stakes decorating test, Nothnagle's design stood out.
"The design manager told me every color I used was cohesive and the different elements I chose were placed nicely in the spaces. In my classes at Siena, I learned how to place colors together. I learned about tones and shades. A lot of people think that a bunch of different blues will all work well together. That's usually not the case. Everything I studied really paid off in those 90 minutes."
Nothnagle started her position as interior designer at her hometown Ashley Store last week, and in July, a new location is opening in the greater Rochester area. Nothnagle will be given that store too, and she'll be tasked with designing the show rooms from scratch. She can't wait for the opportunity, and it'll be nice having more than 90 minutes.
