At the end of the spring semester Interior Design students Bethany Jenkins (BFA 2018) and Claire McGowan (BFA 2018) from the Lamar Dodd School of Art completed a year-long internship at the Georgia Center with the director of facilities management, Emily Newdow, a fellow Dodd Interior Design alumni (BFA 2008).

During the 2017-2018 school year, Jenkins and McGowan participated in numerous projects for the Georgia Center’s renovation. The Dodd students worked on the finish selection, signage, and layout for the hotel’s new convenience store. They drew up a concept design for the concierge area. And during the renovation of an office suite, Jenkins and McGowan helped to insure the new furniture and spaces were ADA compliant. 

Of her internship, Jenkins shared that the largest project she participated in was the renovation of the hotel's ballroom. "I attended construction meetings where the project designer, contractors, and hotel discussed the design direction as well as the mechanical and more technical aspects of the design. Once designs were finalized and construction begun, I was able to be on site and see how any unforeseen concerns with construction or design are handled. The hotel was built in the 1950s and has a mid-century design. Unfortunately, the hotel has lost that look overtime so the goal was to pick furniture that better reflected the buildings history."

"The internship was definitely a valuable learning experience, which expanded my knowledge about hospitality design. I really enjoyed not only seeing a real completed project, but also the more technical side of things. For example, what happens when something is not in the budget or what happens when a design needs to be tweaked once demolition begins and it's discovered that something on the mechanical side of things was not where it was originally thought to be," said Jenkins.