My Design Life

When I was eight years old, I thought I wanted to be an architect. I’m still on that path. Here is my design life thus far…

Commercial Division Intern

Ryan Young Interiors

January 2025 to Present

  • Website: Ryan Young Interiors

  • Ryan Young is an international design firm that creates signature interiors for residential and commercial developers 

  • Commercial Division 

    • Clubhouses

    • Corporate design

    • Hospitality 

    • Multifamily

    • Fitness centers 

    • Commercial spaces 

DLR Group Interior Design Intern

DLR Group–elevate the human experience through design

May 2024 to August 2024 

  • Website: DLR Group

  • Integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization with 33 locations globally

  • Also had the opportunity to work with BraytonHughes Design Studios, a San Francisco-based luxury interiors firm that was bought by DLR

  • Key Responsibilities:

    • Participate with other design team members in the integrated design process for various projects

    • Use primary design tools such as Revit, Enscape, and proprietary DLR Group design tools and methods

    • Assist with the preparation of presentation materials using Adobe Creative Suite

    • Meet with product representatives and research interior materials

    • Assist with material selection and mood board composition for various project types

    • Assist with project pursuits and business development opportunities

    • Actively participate in project meetings, site meetings, and presentations

    • Participate in and gain an understanding of construction documentation

    • Assist with maintaining material libraries while also fostering great relationships with various material vendors

My Experience at DLR Group!

Images & Work

Site Visits in Palo Alto, CA

Field Trips with DLR Group

Eames Institute, Richmond, CA.

Palo Alto Safety Building, Palo Alto, CA.

SFFD Treasure Island Training Facility Building 600, San Francisco, CA.

Yerba Buena Island Residences, San Francisco, CA.

Humble Design Intern

Humble Design–from homeless to hopeful

January 2024 to May 2024

  • Website: Humble Design

  • Humble Designs is a nonprofit which strives to change lives and communities by custom designing and fully furnishing home interiors for individuals, families and veterans emerging from the trauma of losing their homes

  • Assist the transformation of lives in San Diego

  • Internship Plan

    • Objectives

      • Provide a design-focused, social impact career pathway

      • To introduce a design-focused, project management skill set

      • To actively engage student awareness of Humble Design's mission and other community nonprofit work through career-relevant volunteerism

      • To collaborate and educate in order to help combat our community's homelessness crisis through design

    • Learning opportunities through Humble Design mentorship

      • Staging client homes with donated items

      • Client relations

      • Collaboration in a team environment

      • Creative problem solving

      • Logistics

      • Budgeting

      • Social Media

      • Space planning

      • Time management + meeting deadlines

      • Visualization

Images from Humble Design

Design Build Education 

Girls Garage Alumni–build the world you want to see

2014 to ongoing

  • Website: About – Girls Garage

  • Girls Garage is a nonprofit design and construction school for girls and gender-expansive youth ages 9-18, which provide free and low-cost programs in carpentry, welding, architecture, engineering, and activist art to a diverse community of 185 students per year

  • All design/build projects are constructed pro bono for local nonprofit organizations doing social justice-driven work

  • Designs and builds civic architecture projects in our community 

  • Girls Garage prioritizes working with 501(c)(3) nonprofit clients who have a physical project need that will directly benefit the communities they serve

  • Selected projects I worked on:

    • Design/build for Urban Tilth’s Richmond community farm chicken coop for 50 egg-producing chickens Fall, Winter 2019

    • Design for Berkeley Parklet project at Sanctuary Bistro Berkeley Fall 2018

    • Designed and built furniture for Women’s Daytime Drop-In Center, 2218 Acton Berkeley Summer 2017

    • Community Design Build - designed and built planter boxes for Berkeley Youth Alternatives, 1255 Allston Way Berkeley Winter 2017

    • Architecture class with Project H (now Girls Garage) - designed and built dog houses (sales profits donated to Berkeley Animal Shelter) Winter 2015

    • Fix-its and built benches for REALM Middle School Berkeley, Project H, Spring 2014

  • Girls Garage taught me carpentry, how to use power tools, weld, design and build stuff, and showed me the power of community volunteerism

Images from Girls Garage

Mixing concrete for Urban Tilth’s Chicken Pavilion Project

Designing a Dog House

Group photo for Dovetail Workwear

Drawing Studies with Mona Brookes

I had the opportunity to study with Mona Brookes, artist and educator, who in 1979 developed a revolutionary new technique for teaching art to children. She is the author of Drawing with Children and started the Monart Drawing Schools.

Mona Brookes taught me how to draw and sketch. Drawing gave me self-confidence, focus and concentration, and sparked creativity. I studied with her for around 9 years, until her studio closed due to financial difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Excerpt from Mona Brookes’ Letter of Recommendation, “As the owner of the Monart Drawing Schools for 45 years, I have literally worked with thousands of students throughout the U.S. Canada, and Europe. Emily is one of those rare students whose drawing skills would be rated as that of the top 10% of students I have worked with. I began working with her when she was 8 years old. She has consistently attended classes now for around 9 years. She quickly began to shine and take any project into a creative and highly skilled level. Her interest in architecture was noted very soon after mastering her realistic drawing skills. She is currently an "Independent Studies" student and works on very advanced projects of her own choice, as well as the current project for the regular classes.

Along with her advanced drawing skills, her motivation and participation is excellent. She shows a willingness to take on any project with enthusiasm, even when it might not be of specific interest to her. Her dedication to excellence with every project is consistent and she often adds her own creative ideas to enhance the original intent of the lesson.”

Drawings made in Monart:

Resume, portfolio, and references available upon request