Major: Interior Design
Lindsey Gottardo took an interior design class in high school and enjoyed it.
However, when it came time for college, she began pursuing electrical engineering at Purdue University. Two years later, she needed to make a switch.
“I figured out that engineering wasn’t for me,” she said. “I came home that summer and started looking through the list of majors offered at College of DuPage. This is when interior design caught my eye and I decided to try it out since I had enjoyed it in high school. My brother attended COD for a year and my family was happy with the level of education and the resources provided.”
During her first semester, Gottardo took five interior design classes and a speech elective, all while working full time. She enjoyed the classes so much that she wanted to work toward an associate degree. In addition, after taking the Chief Architect course, she fell in love with designing kitchens and bathrooms and decided to earn the Kitchen and Bath Design certificate.
I loved attending all of our program and professional events, helping anyone who needed it, and giving back to the program that changed my life.
Lindsey Gottardo
Gottardo also began getting involved beyond the classroom. She attended industry events and helped set up program events at the College. When high school interior design classes visited COD, she provided students with advice on their palette pulls. She also judged the high school FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) event on campus and gave feedback to the new generation of designers.
Gottardo was nominated and selected to be a student panelist for COD’s New Faculty Institute, which provided new instructors with insight and advice on student motivation and engagement as well as the student experience. In summer 2023, she was nominated by an instructor to become a student aid for the Interior Design program and was selected for the position. This allowed her to work alongside instructors and two other student aids while taking higher-level classes.
“I enjoyed growing my design skills both in the classroom and while working in my position,” she said. “I loved attending all of our program and professional events, helping anyone who needed it, and giving back to the program that changed my life for the better and gave me a path that I am incredibly passionate about.”
In earning her degree and certificate, Gottardo was named one of the College’s outstanding graduate finalists. Her plans include pursuing both her NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification) certification and the CKBD (Certified Kitchen and Bath Designers) certification and then working full time in the residential kitchen and bath industry.
Gottardo is happy that her decision to change majors led her to COD and an exciting career path.
“COD helped prepare me for my career in interior design through having an outstanding program with students hired full time with only an associate degree,” she said. “This helped me with my goal of being hired right out of school. As for personal goals, this program has helped with my anxiety and pulled me out of my shell. It has given me more confidence and has opened opportunities that I never thought I’d have.
“I would tell new students to give interior design a try. It never hurts to try something as it may turn out to be the best decision you ever made, like in my case! I had no idea that when I started this program, thinking I may end up switching majors after the first semester, that I would stick with it and find my passion in life.”
Learn more about the Interior Design program at College of DuPage