Abigail Checkley

Majors: Industrial Design; Minor: Design & Innovation, Theatre; Certificate of Entrepreneurship & Innovation 

Industrial Design Intern, Haworth, Inc

1.) How did you learn about this internship opportunity? 

I had heard about this company through my interest in furniture design awhile back. I had been following the company and looking for opportunities to get involved. I saw there was an opening on LinkedIn and JustIDJobs, I applied back in February.

2.) How has your internship helped build your skills and clarify your career goals?  How did being a Liberal Arts student at Purdue apply to your internship?

The internship has been wonderful in clarifying this is what I'd like to do. Learning how the specific skills I'm learning in school very readily apply to the work I'm doing over the summer has been super interesting. I've been loving the process of going more in depth with the company and definitely see myself in this industry after graduation.

3.) What is a piece of advice you would give someone in your major  looking for an internship? 

Be proactive, start looking and applying early. It doesn't hurt to cast a wide net and go from there, you never know what you might get.

4.) What specific responsibilities have you undertaken during your internship? 

At my internship, I was given an individual brief to work on most of the summer. I was able to go through the whole design process with mentors to guide me (research, ideation, CAD, presentation). I learned a lot of presentation skills and time management throughout this experience.

5.) In what ways has the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University supported your internship journey? How has your participation in our job-ready program specifically aided your professional development? 

The Job-Ready Program helped cover a lot of my housing costs for the summer. I was able to live and work in Holland, Michigan which was a phenomenal experience. The Industrial Design program taught me a lot of super applicable skills I was able to utilize throughout my internship. Growing in those areas this summer was a really great learning opportunity, Purdue ID prepared me really well for it

6.) Could you highlight a standout aspect of your experience in this program that you find particularly noteworthy? 

One of the most exciting things about this internship was being able to visit NeoCon, one of the largest annual commercial interiors trade shows in the world. Haworth was generous enough to send all the interns to Chicago to explore the show in May. It was absolutely fascinating to see so much unique design in one place.