Interns & Fellows
Through the years, our Intern & Fellow program has provided over 200 high schoolers, college students, and recent graduates with hands-on experience working at a community driven non-profit.
students craft their projects around what they are most interested in pursuing
Due to our diverse set of projects and programs, if an intern or fellow is interested in leading community engagement, we are here to support them; if an intern or fellow is looking for design experience to build their portfolio, we have local visioning projects to get them started. Our interns are not getting coffee or stuffing envelopes—they perform critical work for the organization that often goes on to be published for their portfolios.
2019 Design Fellow envisions Victory Memorial Bridge Park over the Cumberland River
2020 Research Fellow presents her final project about activating Church Street Park in Downtown Nashville
2018 Research Fellow engages North Nashville community regarding a future park on Jefferson Street
interns and fellows come from all over the country to gain experience at the Design Center
31% of former interns and fellows attended Vanderbilt University
23% attended University of Tennessee, and 7% attended Tennessee State University
Just under 50% of former interns and fellows have come to Nashville from all over the country or even farther
Our interns pursue career paths in diverse industries
42% of former interns and fellows have entered careers in Design, Planning, or Architecture
The other 58% have chosen paths in varying industries like Business and Entrepreneurship, Government and Non-Profit, Academia and Law, Landscape Architecture and Environmental professions, and lastly Engineering, Development & Realty
This shows that our organization is intrinsically interdisciplinary—a key part of community development
Following their time at the Design Center, we try to stay connected to former interns wherever they end up
46 % of our interns and fellows stick around the Southeast region
30% of our former interns and fellows have ended up in major metropolitan areas of New York, California, and the Midwest
A few are even scattered around Europe or the non-continental U.S
Interested in how you can make an impact through the Design Center?“I can confidently say that I would not be where I am today without my experience at the Design Center.”
Reconnect
Are you a former intern or fellow of the Design Center? We would love to reconnect with you.