Summer Internship Experience : 2

Many of our undergraduate and graduate students held internships this summer near and far. Here is a peek at how a few of our students spent their summers:

Meet Lauren Westenhiser!

Where did you intern this summer and what was your main role?

This summer I was a textile design intern at Target Headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I worked with the ready to wear textile team, and was assigned a project for the juniors label, Mossimo Supply Co. I worked with another intern in design to create a collection of dresses for next Summer.

What surprised you the most during your internship experience?

The team I worked on and everyone I met at Target was so welcoming and helpful. No one was too busy to get to know or give advice on my project. I was able to connect with many new people and gain insight on the work culture and their design process. I was surprised to be given so much responsibility as an intern, and that I felt like an actual employee.

How did you feel your experience at Philadelphia University prepared you to take on and understand the tasks you were given this summer?

My computer skills and experience with textile design process helped me to create a mood, color palette, and exciting print collection for my project. In the print design graduate program, hands on and experimental image making is emphasized. Most of my designs are painted, drawn, or assembled by hand at first, and then scanned into the computer. Everyone at Target responded positively to this way of working when I shared my process during my final presentation.

What new skills did you learn throughout your internship that you might not have learned in the classroom?

I was able to experience and understand the role of the textile designer in an apparel design setting for a discount retailer. Often, there are printing constraints that the textile designer needs to anticipate when coming up with a repeat or color way so that it is cost effective and aesthetically pleasing. It is also important for the textile designer to be aware of the customer and how she responds to different design motifs and colors. Having access to that information and talking with other designers was the best way to learn how decisions are made when designing clothing in this type of company. In school there is more freedom during the design process.

What was your favorite part of the job or working at the company?

My favorite part of the job was the fast pace of designing because I surprised myself at how much I was able to accomplish over the summer. I also loved the how inspiring my manager, mentor, and other team members were throughout the process.