Chaminade University Cultivates the Next Generation of Design Professionals

Gleaming white Spanish-style buildings with red-tiled rooftops and arched arcades line the hillside at Chaminade University in Kaimuki, where you will find Hawaii’s only college curriculum dedicated to environmental and interior design.

According to associate professor Junghwa Suh, the E+ID program was created in response to feedback from industry leaders, who noted that pathways toward an accredited interior design degree were unavailable locally.

For its accredited degree program, Chaminade added environmental elements to its existing interior design courses, which teach students “how we can create a more harmonic transition from indoor and outdoor so the occupants can be satisfied, and there will be more health and well-being in the space,” explains Suh. For example, undergrads study how to optimize natural light and how to utilize the sun’s rotation and Island breezes to keep spaces cool while cutting energy use.

Student Jenna Dahl proudly displays her projects at the senior exhibition event on May 2. Dahl is one of four E+ID program graduates in the spring 2024 class.

Students work with clients in the community to gain valuable real-world experience and a better idea of what the career field is all about. When Hawaii Home + Remodeling visited the campus in April, a computer lab buzzed with busy second-year students working on their current project: redesigning a part of the gym at Sacred Hearts Academy. The all-girls school, located down the hill from Chaminade, is renovating a space overlooking the basketball court with a viewing deck for VIP guests and adding a golf simulator, bathrooms and an elevator. Chaminade’s E+ID students are key collaborators in bringing the remodel to life.

“It’s kind of like fitting pieces in a puzzle, working with a client and also being able to explain why certain things may or may not work,” says E+ID student Kat Liu.

Rounding out the spring 2024 Chaminade E+ID graduating class are Nicole Cacacho (above), Camryn Pedro (below) and Erin Kelly (second below). At the senior exhibition event, these students had the opportunity to meet industry professionals for networking and knowledge-sharing. The event caps off a comprehensive curriculum designed to provide students with specialized skills, internships and project-based learning experiences for successful careers in the field.

Undergraduates work closely with each other throughout the entire four-year program. “I love the people that I’m surrounded with,” says student Aegean Agustin. “We’re always texting each other and supporting each other, which I really love. I get inspiration from them.”

Students are required to do an internship before graduating, and many of them are hired by their respective companies before their internships are over. In fact, all of the E+ID students who graduated at spring 2024 commencement ceremonies in May have full-time jobs lined up.

“The program has a lot to offer,” says Liu, who currently serves as the student representative with the Hawaii chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. “It helps us build connections with the professors and network.”

Industry representatives often come to E+ID classes to share some of the different ways that students can use their interior design degrees after graduation. Current students are already planning their futures with diverse goals, such as fabricating lighting and furniture, starting a family business focused on residential spaces, and creating commercial buildings.

The Chaminade E+ID program is accepting applications here.

Editor’s Note: This article has been slightly modified from the original print version for optimal online reading. To view the full print story, pick up your copy of Hawaii Home + Remodeling at one of our partner locations.