What are some of the rewarding aspects of your occupation and career?
Pritzker: I love working with my amazing clients and creating beautiful and functional spaces for them. It is incredibly rewarding to see a project through from start to finish and to see the smiles on my clients' faces at the end. I also really enjoy working with all of the talented and knowledgeable fabricators, craftspeople, and vendors, who make it possible for me to execute these projects.

What would you consider as your greatest achievement in this occupation?
Pritzker: My greatest achievement is starting my own business in 2013 and turning it into a success. It has been a lot of hard work, but I love it!

What did you study for your undergraduate degree?  Did it inform your choice of Interior Design as a career?
Pritzker: I studied Art-Semiotics, which is an interdisciplinary concentration that explores how things are communicated visually, with a combination of theory and studio work. It truly informed how I perceive things visually, and gave me exposure to many things that inspire me. More broadly, I believe that having a liberal arts experience as an undergrad gave me a really rich foundation to explore a more directed and specific graduate degree.

Why did you choose this career?
Pritzker: I have always been a creative person and I have always enjoyed areas of artistic expression that are more applied and practical. I also love working directly with people and this is a great career for that. This career also allows me to have great flexibility and work/ life balance, which comes from working for myself.

Why did you choose Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design over similar programs?
Pritzker: I don't think that there are similar or comparable programs to the program at Drexel. It is by far the most rigorous program in the area. It was also important to me to come out of graduate school with a Master's degree, rather than an Associate's degree.

How did your time at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts and Design prepare you for your career?
Pritzker: Drexel prepared me very well for my career. There are a lot of technical skills that one needs to be an interior designer and those skills are taught in the classroom at Drexel. I also learned about things like scale and balance, materials, and presentation, all of which are very important.

Was our faculty helpful to you in making the transition to a career in interior design?  Are you still in contact with them?
Pritzker: Yes, the faculty was great. I am still in contact with several of my professors. They were really there for me and gave great advice and definitely helped with the transition to the working world.

What advice would you give to someone considering returning to a Master’s program in interior design?
Pritzker: I would say to make sure that he or she really understands what is involved in the program. It is a very challenging program and involves a wide range of skills and a great deal of commitment. The professors are there to guide and help the students, and once in the program, it is really great to attend office hours and ask lots of questions.
 
I am very appreciative of my experience at Drexel. My time there really gave me the foundation that I needed to enter the professional world of interior design. Although the program was very challenging, I really enjoyed it!