By Jake Murray
Amanda placed 3rd in the Chief Architect Kitchen/Bath & Interiors Design Contest! Her ability to learn from different design perspectives has contributed to her success as a young designer.
“My interest in design all started in high school when I decided to focus on art and design classes. I grew up in Massachusetts where I attended college in Boston at Wentworth Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design. As a young designer, I am always curious about “what’s the new thing.” I am always wanting to learn from a different design perspective. For example, my last co-op I worked with architects and got to understand more about the structure. These advantages help me understand what I am designing and what I need to improve on as a young designer. (more…)
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“I always had an eye for design. Since I was a kid, I always loved testing ideas and reworking current concepts. I started young, sketching plans and inventing various models and machines. I always loved testing my creativity and problem-solving skills, despite being a brain tumor survivor. My fairly poor motor skills and major loss of hearing, due to the radiation removal, were challenged in grade school and throughout life. Anything that involved my motor skills was easily not my shining talent. I’ve always hated coloring, cutting, pasting, and other handcrafting skills. In grade school, I worked my way through various home designing software and used them for much more than just home designs. I made dog houses, forts, playsets, greenhouse, and even a roping cow. 
“I am originally from Des Moines, Iowa and moved to San Diego to attend design school ten years ago. I have been around design and remodeling my whole life with my family, my dad always being one to complete all of his own remodeling projects and having my sister and I help all along the way. I graduated from the Art Institute of California – San Diego with a Bachelor’s of Science in Interior Design. My first few jobs in the industry were a color specialist at a paint store, furniture sales, and tile design before I settled at 
