NYSID Pre-College Scholarships Open Doors to Design Talents
Corey Damen Jenkins shares with students
On July 16, NYSID Pre-College students listened intently as AD100 designer Corey Damen Jenkins shared his journey, from early discouragement and rejection to career success. His father did not regard interior design as a “real career” and refused to pay for a degree in the discipline. Despite his father's refusal, Damen Jenkins moved to Brooklyn at age 19 and landed a design internship. There, he tried and failed to support himself, so he moved back home to Michigan, studied business, and spent a decade working as a purchasing agent in the auto industry. Damen Jenkins finally took another stab at a design career in 2008, during the Great Recession, in Michigan, a place where there were no other designers he knew of who looked like him. He struggled to find his first client for months. He set a goal to knock on the doors of 1,000 homes that were under construction to offer his services. He knocked on 778 doors. Many were slammed in his face. In one case, he was chased away by dogs. At the 779th door, a couple invited him in for coffee and scones and allowed him to show his portfolio. He ultimately designed their living and dining rooms. The photos of this project on his website attracted casting executives from HGTV’s “Showhouse Showdown,” a televised design contest he eventually won. It was the break that established his reputation.
He told the students, “Whenever anyone tells you interior design is not a real career, I want you to remember to follow your dreams and passions. . .Delays do not mean denial. It won’t be easy. . . It will take ethics and elbow grease. . . But you will arrive.” When the internationally acclaimed interior designer finished his story, and offered to answer questions, many hands shot up. Damen Jenkins answered every question from the young students, and invited them to contact him personally for guidance.
This presentation was just one event in a jam-packed first session of NYSID’s summer Pre-College program, which ran from July 6-18. NYSID’s Pre-College program is an intense immersion into interior design that involves the practice of basic design skills, field trips to design firms, showrooms, and museums, and exposure to role models in the field. It’s offered at two levels: Pre-College I, in which students craft a residence; and Pre-College II, a hospitality design course that focuses on the design of a restaurant or hotel lobby. This year, NYSID offered two sessions of online Pre-College (Session I: July 7-17 and Session II: July 21-31) and two sessions of in-person Pre-College (Session I: July 6-18 and Session II: July 20-August 1). Faculty members who teach in the graduate and undergraduate programs at NYSID, all practicing designers, instruct the Pre-College students.
Students at the Lee Jofa/Brunschwig & Fils showroom in the D&D Building
“Pre-College at NYSID is a whirlwind in which high school students go from learning to use an architect’s scale to completing a floor plan drawn to scale. Their final presentations include the floor plan as well as furniture, fixtures, fabrics, wallcoverings, paint colors, and lighting, “ says Lynette Bard, one of the NYSID faculty members who teaches the in-person Pre-College I. She adds, “Going to design offices and showrooms to see/touch/experience what is available exclusively to us as professionals and to interact with working designers gives a sense of what interior design really is.” Among the design firms that welcomed students into their offices this year were CookFox, Cullman & Kravis, and David Scott Interiors. Students toured showrooms that included Kravet, Lee Jofa, Lalique, and SICIS, and visited the D&D Building, where they acquired materials samples for their final projects. This year, NYSID partnered with Summer Springboard to provide a residential dorm experience as well as extracurricular and social support to in-person students. NYSID collaborates with non-profit partners YWCA NYC, Girls, Inc., and Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club to bring the program to students with interest and need.
Funding That Is Shaping a Program & the Next Generation of Designers
Thanks to the generosity of donors to NYSID’s Pre-College Scholarship Fund, NYSID awarded scholarships to 52 Pre-College students in summer 2025. Many of the students who received scholarships are from communities traditionally underrepresented in design, and have had little prior exposure to role models in design careers.
A $100,000 gift from the Kravet family in 2021 enabled NYSID to enroll numerous students involved in the Kips Bay Summer Youth Employment Program in the Pre-College program over five years, culminating in 2025. This important seed donation empowered NYSID to attract other funders and helped the college expand and enrich its Pre-College program, turning it into a pipeline for design for talented young people from many different backgrounds. In 2025, eight Kravet scholarships were awarded to five students; three of these recipients participated in both Pre-College I and Pre-College II.
Major donations from The Decorator’s Club of New York and Angelo Donghia Foundation have been pivotal to the program’s growth. This year NYSID gave eight Pre-College scholarships from The Decorator’s Club of New York and two scholarships from the Angelo Donghia Foundation. The Decorator’s Club funds supported all of the students who came to NYSID through the YWCA NYC community organization.
This year, the estate of Joseph Grusczak, a 1956 NYSID graduate and owner and principal of Grusczak Associates, provided a $714,000 bequest to the Pre-College Scholarship Fund. As a result, NYSID granted 39 scholarships through the Grusczak gift for summer 2025, benefiting both online and in-person students. All students who participated through Girls Inc. received Grusczak scholarships. The bequest will continue to open doors for aspiring designers for years to come.
Student Work & Experience
On July 17, students from the first session of NYSID’s summer Pre-College program presented their final projects to their friends, families, and the leaders of the College, including NYSID President David Sprouls and NYSID Dean and VP for Academic Affairs Ellen Fisher.
Jeremiah McDaniel-Mejias
Jeremiah McDaniel-Mejias, a Kravet Pipeline to Design Scholar participating in Pre-College I through the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx, is a rising senior who dreams of becoming a real estate entrepreneur who uses his knowledge of design to complement his business. The client he envisioned for his first-session project is a hardworking 24-year-old real estate agent and social media influencer who uses his lifestyle and home as a platform for his business. In his design, Jeremiah was mindful of separating communal from private spaces, creating warm, open social areas that work well on camera and function for cooking and entertaining, contrasted with darker private spaces intended for “ultimate relaxation after 10-12 hour working days.” He sourced the patterned wall textile in his project from NYSID’s library. He says, “I can sit down and design for hours. It intrigues me. I learned from this class that I can actually do it, and that interior design could be a career for me, or at least side-knowledge that enhances my career.”
Aleena Calderon
Aleena Calderon, a rising junior from Long Island, who received a Grusczak scholarship, had her mother in mind as her client when she designed her one-bedroom apartment project for Pre-College I. “I created this for my mom because she makes and sells paintings, and she really needs a space to create art. My mom is very into fashion, and her favorite colors are blue and gold, so that influenced the color scheme.” Her floor plan was advanced for a high school student, perhaps because she takes architectural drawing in her high school. Nonetheless, she says that what she learned about drafting was one of the best parts of the program. She has a strong interest in entering the interior design field.
Amor Jones
Amor Jones, a rising junior from New Jersey who attended Pre-College I last summer, returned to take Pre-College II, thanks to a scholarship from The Decorator’s Club. Pre-College II focuses on commercial design, specifically the design of a hotel lobby or restaurant. Amor’s project was “The SP Brazil,” a hotel and restaurant set in São Paulo. Her color choices echo the blues and greens of the sea. The heart of her project is a striking sculpture of Christ the Redeemer, which grounds her design in the cultural and spiritual life of the city. She designed a graffiti-style logo in which she set the colors of the Brazilian flag against electric pink. Amor says, “The big difference this year is that I came in knowing the basics, so I was able to step out of my comfort zone and really make it about the culture and colors of São Paulo.” Asked what she plans to do in the future, Amor said, “This program helped me develop my interest in something I love. I think I am going to go to school for an undergraduate degree in business, centered on real estate, and then pursue a graduate degree in interior design.”
Layla Barbee
Layla Barbee, a Pre-College I student and recipient of a scholarship from the Estate of Joseph Grusczak, is from California. She created a project so eye-catching that NYSID’s Dean and VP for Academic Affairs Ellen Fisher, stopped beside it and asked Layla to present. The apartment was for a college student in New York City, and Layla used a daring color palette of greens, pinks, corals, and golds. She says, “The most useful takeaways from this course were learning how to scale and the introduction to color.” Pointing to her floor plan, she said, “I learned important details about drafting, such as you have to make the lines thicker for plumbing walls, and how to work around a structural problem, like this column. I extended it into a countertop.”
Sophia Motiwalla
Sophia Motiwalla, the recipient of a scholarship from the Estate of Joseph Grusczak who enrolled in Pre-College I, thoroughly grasped the lesson that interior design is all about coming to understand your client, and fulfilling their needs and hopes through design. She researched and designed an apartment for Jane Birkin, the French actress, designer, philanthropist, and style icon. Sophia created the apartment for her theoretical client in 2001, when Birkin had just divorced her husband. She set out to create a place where her client “could tap into her own passions and let loose,” so the space reflects Birkin’s love of world travel, with patterns and textiles from around the globe. Sophia is headed into her freshman year at the University of San Francisco, where she plans to double major in business and design. She said, “I learned from this program that if I am not making some form of art or design, I won’t be happy. I am capable of being a good artist and designer. I can and will do it.”
Tiany Hernandez
Tiany Hernandez, who just completed her senior year and is headed to Queens College, is a Kravet Pipeline to Design Scholar who took Pre-College I. She is considering a double majoring in psychology and design, but she had little hands-on experience in design or drafting in high school. She says, “This program was really good, because it gave me a chance to try out design. The visits to the galleries, showrooms, and D&D Building were great.” She designed an apartment for a future version of herself, a college student in New York. She said learning to measure properly was the most important skill she picked up. In her design, she added sliding glass doors in front of a closet she has often dreamed about.
Annavictoria Monaco
Annavictoria Monaco, is another student who returned for a second summer of NYSID Pre-College to take Pre-College II through the Pre-College Scholarship Fund. This year, the rising senior from Florida was granted a scholarship from the Estate of Joseph Gruszczak. Her project was “Sangria,” a restaurant and jazz bar set in Madrid, Spain, with a color palette of sumptuous reds and browns, leopard and zebra print textiles, and vintage furniture from the 1970s. She was inspired to make the restaurant a transporting experience after her visit to the LaLique Maison d'Artiste Showroom with her Pre-College group. She said, “In this second course, I felt more comfortable designing so I could take risks and step away from my own style and really stretch my skills.” Annavictoria says, “NYSID Pre-College has helped me be 100% sure I want to be an interior designer. I will definitely be applying to NYSID.”
Opening Doors to Future Designers
NYSID’s Pre-College Scholarship program is about making the interior design industry welcoming and accessible to the broadest group of talent possible. NYSID Pre-College Scholarships change lives and bring varied perspectives to the profession. There are students attending NYSID this year who were Pre-College scholarship recipients in years past.
To find out how to support NYSID’s Pre-College Scholarship Fund, reach out to NYSID’s Director of Development Joy Cooper at joy.cooper@nysid.edu, or make a donation here.
To inquire about applying for a Pre-College scholarship, reach out to the Pre-College office at precollege@nysid.edu.
In years past, major support for NYSID’s Pre-College Fund has been provided by the ASID South Florida Chapter, Brian McCarthy, Bunny Williams, Charlotte Moss, Cullman & Kravis, The Decorators Club Education Fund, Donghia Foundation, Jamie Drake, James Druckman/New York Design Center, the Estate of Joseph Gruszczak, John Rosselli & Associates, Kaleidoscope Project, Kravet Inc. and the Kravet family, Studio Designer, and other donors. The College is deeply grateful for current and past support.