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Event Recap April 9, 2021

BDS Virtual Career Expo featured 15 panelists from design and a variety of career fields

April 7, 2021 – Baltimore Design School held a Virtual BDS Career Expo, hosted by the BDS Leadership Program and iMentor. 50+ students from grades 6 – 12 logged on to participate in the online event. The program was divided into 3 segments, with panelists from across a variety of professions describing their experiences on […]

April 7, 2021 – Baltimore Design School held a Virtual BDS Career Expo, hosted by the BDS Leadership Program and iMentor.

50+ students from grades 6 – 12 logged on to participate in the online event. The program was divided into 3 segments, with panelists from across a variety of professions describing their experiences on topics that included: Designing Your Future, Becoming a Boss and Finding Your Groove.

Designing Your Future panelists shared their interests, first jobs or internship experiences and how they came to be in their chosen career. The creatives in Becoming a Boss discussed the challenges of owning a business or being part of an employee-owned business. And the panelists in Finding your Groove demonstrated that experiences you have throughout life develop your interests and can lead to careers you might not have even considered.


We are so grateful to the following guests, who we welcome into our BDS family:

Designing Your Future 
Nicole Kumar, Gensler, Corporate Recruiter [BDS Partner]
Robert Marbury, Imre, Creative Director/Photographer/Filmmaker  [BDS Partner]
Bianca Marchany, Gensler, Interior Designer  [BDS Partner]
Angela Silverman, Medstar, Nurse and Nurse Practitioner
Linda Cho, Broadway USA, Award-Winning Fashion/Costume Designer for Broadway/Hippodrome  [BDS Partner]

Becoming a Boss
Steve Ziger, Ziger & Associates, Senior Designer  [BDS Partner]
Vince Green, Taharka Brothers Ice Cream, Business Development and Marketing
Cheryl Williams, Hudgins Williams Associates, Professional Branding and Presentation  [BDS Partner]
Kevin Walker, RSNE Sports, Business Owner in Tech Field
Justin Henry, Baltimore Graphics Company, Graphic Designer

Finding Your Groove
Christopher Chester, The Atlantic, Graphic Designer
Kay Tillman, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Graphic Designer
Beresford Pratt, Ayers Saint Gross, Architect & AIA Young Architects Regional Dir  [BDS Partner]
Lauren Dilberto, Under Armour, Senior Designer – Print/Textile.  [BDS Partner]
Gregory Jones, Clark Construction Group, Engineer

Students were surveyed for feedback after the event, and following are some of their responses:

What did you like best about the Career Expo today?
-Getting to hear how they got to where they are now.
-I liked seeing all the people.
-Finding out that Ms Cho was a costume designer
-I liked how cooperative everyone was.
-I loved all their stories and how they told us how they got into what they like
-Everyone questions were answered
-The speaker’s personal experience
-Seeing the different careers
-I especially liked the engineer that was speaking.
-It was very insightful and helpful in showing me to realize that it is ok to not know what I want to do in the future.
-Everyone sharing their experiences
-I got to listen to other people experience in the art field and learned new things.
-I liked learning about the careers and the people -their past and hard times and how then become a boss or made their own company.

Who were some of your favorite speakers and why?
-It was Vince because he gave me a feeling of very strong determination for the business.
-Robert Marbury because I know him from orientations and I thought he had a lot to say.
-Ms Cho and Ms Flood because they really peaked my interest
-I think my favorite was Kay, mainly because I respect her experience with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
-I liked Greg Jones, Kay and Beresford because their stories were more interesting to me and I liked how they told it.
-Bianca
-Mrs. Cho because she designs costumes for Broadway shows and her story was very interesting
-Linda Cho because her career is similar to what I want to do
– Greg Jones. I liked how he was being honest that he wouldn’t be a football player because of his height so he did something that fits him.
-I don’t have a favorite, I really liked all of the speakers.
-Lauren diliberto, shes rlly inspiring

What were some of the things that you learned or were surprised about?

-I was surprised how they all have stories involving having multiple jobs and going to different places.
-I was surprised about how some of the people go to their career paths.
-That one the speaker was raised around military positions in her family
-I was surprised of how some of them got into what they love and the schools and things that inspired them to do it.
-That Kevin or Justin I believe was working on a drone and is in the graphic design field
-Something I learned is that you should have faith and god will lead you where you should go
-I learned about the experiences that people went through
-I learned to focus on a career that fits me.
-That you don’t need to know what you want to do in the future and to do something that makes you happy.
-the speeches
-Something that surprised me is that for some or most of the presenters, the job they have wasn’t their first choice.
-That something can be good in you life like you can start at the bottom and you can go to the top.

One student in particular was a little harder to impress: “The only thing I was surprised about was how many people can be in a zoom call.” Hopefully we’ll be able to host in-person next year!