Recent Grad 101: Laura Conner

Laura Conner ‘20 didn’t head to college for interior architecture straight out of high school. Instead, she earned a business degree, lived abroad, became a mom, and built up some life experience before heading to Chatham to earn her Bachelor’s in Interior Architecture. Now, she is designing high-end homes and businesses in North Carolina as lead designer at an architecture firm. In our latest Recent Grad 101 piece, we talk with Laura about what inspired her career path, what she loves about her job, and what she has her sights set on next. Read on for more—

Laura Conner ‘20

What inspired you to get into interior architecture as a career?

Laura Conner: My path to interior architecture was a little longer than most students typically leaving high school. As a kid, I was absolutely enthralled with design. I would walk into a bookstore or a grocery store with my mom and I'd immediately go to the magazine section and get floor plan magazines. I would try to memorize them and draw them when I got back home. My first degree was actually in business when I lived overseas. Going to school for business was an avenue of future entrepreneurship for me. After that, I took some time off. I lived overseas and I had my son. I actually began and completed my interior architecture degree as a single mom. It was a way of proving to myself and to my son that we can do hard things. [I wanted to] show him that no one else can put a timeline on your goals.

How did Chatham inform or affect your career path?

LC: Chatham gave me an unquestionable advantage. I can't stress that enough. The level of knowledge and professionalism that are presented to you in that program are not to be overlooked. It was really the people in the program who made up my experience and affected my career path. The better your work was, the higher the expectations became for you. I was constantly being pushed—the competitive spirit in me loved that. The professors helped me, cheered me on, and held me up. I remember sitting in Program Director, Kyra Tucker's office as a single mom with a two year old. She was [already] encouraging me and having this faith in me before she even knew me. There were so many classes and nights in the studio when my son would tag along. Not all professors or universities would let a three year old sit in on a modern history of architecture course.

Tell us about what you did immediately following your Chatham graduation.

LC: COVID definitely put a damper on things. There was a trip planned and all sorts of things planned. I closed my computer. I didn't open any drawing software for at least a week. At the time, I was working at a design firm in Pittsburgh. Life just sort of went on. The chapter closed, but the book is still continuing.

I actually moved during COVID. I wanted to be closer to family. We made the decision to move all the way to South Carolina, and now I work in North Carolina at an architecture firm.

What does an average work day look like for you?

LC: I'm typically in the studio by 7:30 am. Every day is completely different. I'm on a lot of projects. During the week, I have different weekly site visits. I have meetings with reps. Continuing education is big for me, so I take a lot of time to do that throughout the week. We have group studio time and presentations. There isn’t a whole lot of downtime in my day, which is nice because it's always changing. It keeps things interesting.

What's your favorite part of your work?

LC: So much. I love interfacing with clients. I love presenting my ideas to them and seeing a spark ignited within them about all the possibilities of their space. But I'd have to say the most satisfying aspect is seeing a design that I came up with from inception to completion, being able to actually stand in a space that didn't exist before I infused it with my own creativity.

Do you have an aspirational destination that you're working towards in your career?

LC: Absolutely. Right now, I'm the lead designer at an architecture firm in Charlotte, North Carolina. And with that, I get to design custom luxury homes that average around $4 million. I'm currently designing this ginormous restaurant on one of our lakes. I love it and it's really a good thing to be a part of. My biggest aspiration is to have my own studio and to make a brand or a name for myself that's representative of who I am and what I'm bringing to the table. I want to emphasize things like social sustainability and environmental sustainability. I mostly work with residential and small scale hospitality projects right now and I'll probably stay in those lanes. Residential speaks to me the most because I get to work with people on a personal level.

Do you have advice for current students who are looking to enter the interior architecture field?

LC: If you wouldn't sit down and do it all for free, then it's not the right path for you. You're not going to wake up and be the next Zaha Hadid just because you're holding a diploma. You need to continue to push the envelope and push your own comfort zone. It's more than picking paint and a hardwood stain. Immerse your heart and your creativity in it. It's a lot different than what you see on HGTV. For future [or current] Chatham [interior architecture] students, be incredibly grateful to be part of a program that gives you an unquestionable advantage over so many other programs. You learn about things and you're exposed to things, but you don't realize the weightiness of them until after the fact.

What about single parents who are thinking about going back to school?

LC: To single parents, there is no timeline on when you have to finish. There should never be a point in your life that you decide you aren't able to go for your goals and your dreams. I had to overcome a lot to go back. Keep pushing towards the path that you want to see for yourself. Value yourself and how far you can push.

Special thanks to Laura for telling us about her Chatham experience and post-grad adventures. Learn more about Chatham’s interior architecture program here.