Going into high school, I was dead set on becoming an engineer. Although art was one of my passions, I never really realized what value my art skills held and what I could potentially use it for on a professional level. However, my perspective on creative careers and my future plans changed when I attended the Institute for Educational Advancement’s at , under the mentorship of Professor Stan Kong.

I applied for the product design site of this program. The funny thing is, though, was that I didn’t know what product design was at all – or the essence of design. I just knew that the program would teach basic sketching and rendering skills as the description mentioned, which was enough to pique my interest. Despite this, I ended up learning so much more.

In the first week at ArtCenter, I learned about the product design industry, the design process and business-oriented techniques and experiences. I was surprised to discover how diverse, versatile and vast product design is as a field, in addition to how the design process resembled the scientific method; it begins with a prompt, followed by research, reformulation of prompt or objective, and a cycling between ideation, development and testing until, finally, production.

One of the biggest things I took away from the first week was how to work and thrive in a company. Communication, collaboration, understanding – these are all important to obtaining success in the industry. And I know because we actually did a project that resembled the experience of working in a company in which we had to work with others to create a flashlight design that satisfied the needs of a particular consumer. In teams, we interviewed our client, researched materials and resources, elaborated on different ideas and pitched our design. Being familiar with your client, demographic, competitors and the market place was the key to success. For me it was challenging to manage so many ideas in a group, to eliminate what was impractical and to agree on a particular vision. It’s through this first-hand experience, though, that I learned how work with others better, whether it was in EXPLORE or outside of it.

In the following weeks, we worked on more collaborative projects, like designing lunchboxes and water bottles, and we all improved in communicating and understanding. We learned more about the industry, like branding and advertising. However, we also learned about ArtCenter itself by exploring all their offered majors and what it felt like to be a college student.

The whole experience was so fun, stimulating, and enriching in that I not only learned, but experienced the product design process, business and marketing and ArtCenter. And it was so much better that I experienced this with peers who were funny, talented, and ambitious; I’ll remember all the laughs and the trip on the ArtCenter shuttle where we played games the entire way back. I also had the pleasure of being taught skills and life lessons from Stan’s personal experiences that I’ll take with me in the future.

Because I joined the ÓÅÃÛÊÓƵ EXPLORE Externship at ArtCenter, I’ve become a better collaborator, presenter, artist and life-long learner. I plan to study and pursue product, industrial or interactive design in the future. In fact, I hope to be admitted to one of the several colleges to which I applied to study both engineering and design, two passions I’ve learned were anything but exclusive. For now, I’ll be attending , a program that EXPLORE introduced me to.

I hope that my experience encourages others to explore their interests or overlooked passions to discover what the world has to offer – and what they can offer to the world.

Want to experience a hands-on externship under the guidance of an experienced mentor this summer? ! Applications for the 2019 program are due April 9, 2019.

Dr. Ford is the Vice President and Chief of Surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and a Professor of Surgery and the Vice Dean for Medical Education at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. He has been an for seven years and has mentored 17 Apprentices.

Mr. Kong is the Head of Product Design at Pasadena City College and a faculty member of the Graduate Industrial Design program at Art Center College of Design. He has been an ÓÅÃÛÊÓƵ Apprenticeship Mentor for 14 years and has mentored more than 150 Apprentices.

What did our guests enjoy?

Assorted hors d’oeuvres and cocktails were served, including the signature drink for the evening, the LeMOONdrop. Wine was generously donated by John and Pam Craig.

Delicious dinner was catered by celebrated local chef Claud Beltran of Pasadena’s The Eatery. Table decorations included beautiful centerpieces donated by Orchard Supply Hardware.

Thanks to generous donations by individuals and local businesses, there were more than thirty one-of-a-kind silent auction packages available, including:

• VIP tickets to tapings of The Big Bang Theory and Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• Behind-the-scenes tours of the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
• Artwork created by past Apprentices, CDB Scholars, and CDB parents
• Gift certificates to local businesses
• Resources, services, and enrichment opportunities for gifted children and their parents

Attendees had the privilege of speaking with Mr. Stan Kong and Dr. Henri Ford, two incredible individuals who we are lucky to have as members of our community, and the evening provided an opportunity for many different members of our community to meet each other. Guests also enjoyed a heartfelt presentation by past ÓÅÃÛÊÓƵ Apprentices thanking Dr. Ford and Mr. Kong for their mentorship.

The growth of ÓÅÃÛÊÓƵ was palpable over the course of the evening, as all ÓÅÃÛÊÓƵ programs were represented and Mentors, program participants, board members, parents, supporters, and staff joined together to celebrate.

The bright young minds we serve were involved in every aspect of the event. 2012 Caroline D. Bradley Scholar Talya Klinger created beautiful, hand-blown glass awards for each of our honorees. Two Caroline D. Bradley alumni, Bo Yan Moran and Tanner Scharch, and 2013 Apprentice James Tom played live music for the Patron and Open Cocktails. During the evening’s program, 2008 Apprentice Thomas Zenteno spoke about his Apprenticeship with Mr. Kong, and 2010 Apprentice Clara Wang spoke about her Apprenticeship with Dr. Ford. Many former Apprentices of Dr. Ford and Mr. Kong were also featured in a video tribute to the honorees.

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Thank you again to all of our event sponsors, donors, and guests. Your participation in this event has played an integral part in our fundraising efforts for this year to help us continue to provide unique and valuable programs and services to bright young minds. We couldn’t do it without you!

Please help ÓÅÃÛÊÓƵ continue to shine! If you have not yet had the opportunity to donate or if you would like to make another contribution, we would greatly appreciate your support by clicking here.