As Heritage School of Interior Design celebrates a decade of nurturing creativity and shaping the future of aspiring designers, we thought it was the perfect time to sit down with Amy White to reflect on the history and future of the school. Amy is both an alumni of the HSID program and the Director of Operations for the past nine years! Her story is not just one of personal and professional growth but a testament to the transformative power of Heritage School of Interior Design.
Passionate Beginnings.
Could you share the story of where your passion for design started? Was there a defining moment, childhood experience, or early ideas that influenced you?
Growing up I loved art classes and redesigning my bedroom. My parents kindly let me decorate my room however I wanted and must have painted the walls for me a dozen times! I loved going to the paint store and looking through all of the different colors. My most eccentric room had deep purple walls with hot pink trim and turquoise accents!
An Architectural Digest magazine was the original inspiration for exploring Interior Design as a career. I was working as a Marketing Coordinator after getting my degree in Marketing & Advertising from Portland State University when I realized I was not feeling fulfilled and was dreading going back to work after the holidays.
I was looking through an Architectural Digest magazine and was in awe over the beautiful designs and decided to google local Interior Designers. I contacted a handful of Portland Interior Designers and asked if they would be willing to meet with me for an informational interview so that I could learn how they made Interior Design their career. That’s when I met HSID alumni Amy Troute who told me about Heritage. She changed my life forever!
Joining the Heritage Family:
We’d love to hear about the path that led you to become a part of the Heritage team!
I attended Heritage back in 2014 and graduated shortly before Jan Springer retired and sold the school. Stephanie was in the early stages of purchasing Heritage when her sister-in-law, Karen, connected us. Karen worked with my mom as a preschool teacher and she knew that I had recently completed Heritage’s Fundamentals of Interior Design program. At first, Stephanie was interested in hearing about my experience as a student and reviewing the curriculum together. The curriculum was orignally a ginormous binder of printed material!
We quickly hit it off and Stephanie hired me part-time to help with some marketing efforts while I was also working part-time for another Interior Designer. After about a year I realized that my passion was truly with Heritage and started working with Stephanie full-time!
My role has grown and evolved and I feel so lucky to have a career that combines my marketing background with my love for Interior Design!
Keys to Professional Success.
In reflecting on your nearly ten years of experience at Heritage, can you identify three strengths that have played a pivotal role in your professional success within the organization?
1. Passion for our mission. I really am passionate about what strive to do at HSID. Heritage School of Interior Design works to “Empower the creativity of aspiring designers with a quality, hands-on education to achieve personal growth and professional success.” I have a career that I love and I want that for everyone, especially our students!
2. A positive attitude. For me, a positive attitude creates a positive work environment which is important to me. I try to stay positive even in the most stressful moments, a quality shared by our entire team.
3. Loyalty. I always say that Heritage is my home away from home! It’s been a big part of my life for the past 9 years and I’m committed to doing a great job serving our students and growing the school.
It’s a Balancing Act!
Balancing a career and family is often challenging. How have you managed to strike a balance between your career at Heritage and your personal life?
I am very thankful that Heritage School of Interior Design is flexible and prioritizes a healthy work-life balance. It can certainly be challenging at times with a 3-year-old and a 5-month-old. I try to prioritize and really focus on what’s in front of me at a given time. This means that I give 100% at one time rather than feeling like I’m only able to give 50% to work or my family.
During work hours I’m fully focused on work, and when I’m with my family I’m fully focused on them! I am also so fortunate to have a supportive husband who also has flexibility with his work schedule and can take wonderful care of our kids when I am working.
A Decade of Evolution at Heritage.
What notable shifts have you observed in the Heritage School of Interior Design, both in terms of the school itself and the direction of its students?
Heritage School of Interior Design has developed in so many ways because of Stephanie’s leadership and our incredibly talented team. We all work hard to provide our students with an invaluable education.
Our Interior Design instructors actively work in the industry which means that our curriculum is constantly evolving and staying current. As a result, our students’ skills continue to get better and better. The portfolios that our students produce are truly amazing! I love seeing how proud they are of their work, it’s one of the things I love most about my job.
It has also been so exciting to see that Heritage alumni are now everywhere! We have a beautiful community of successful graduates, not only in the Portland Interior Design network but in Seattle and Denver as well!
Defining the Heritage Experience.
In your opinion, what sets Heritage apart and defines the Heritage experience, both for students and staff?
The Heritage culture is truly special. We are a family! The relationships between our team members and the relationships between students are so strong – we see lifelong friendships come out of our school! Because students are going through this new life-changing experience together they are so supportive of each other. This starts during their time in our Interior Design programs and continues after graduation as they begin their Interior Design careers.
Academically, what sets HSID apart is the hands-on, real-world experience that students gain. The connections they build within the Interior Design community are also incredibly valuable. The skills students learn combined with the networking opportunities often lead students to their dream careers in Interior Design. Our instructors also teach using real-world experiences which means that our curriculum is very relevant and applicable.
And most importantly, our entire team is committed to the success of each and every student!
