Amie Gauvin thinks her interest in interior design started at birth. As a youth, she was attracted to working with colors and frequently rearranged the furniture in her family's home. Rather than take a traditional high school program, she chose a four-year program in painting and wallpapering at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical School. The next step to getting her closer to starting a career in interior design was to enroll in New England Tech's associate degree program in Interior Design Technology. She did, and 18 months later was hired as the first interior designer at La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries for the Warwick, RI and Dartmouth, MA stores.

Today's La-Z-Boy furniture includes a wide selection of recliners as well as a great selection of complete living rooms and family rooms. The company is driven to provide excellent customer satisfaction and ensures that its staff is well-trained to identify the furniture that best fits the customers' needs. The effort to expand services to provide even more comprehensive service led to the creation of Amie's position.

Amie visits customers' homes with a salesperson in order to gain a true understanding of what is needed to make a room attractive and comfortable for its owners. She travels with samples of fabric and leather and completes room measurements. Amie makes some suggestions on site and then returns to the store and does a floor plan which she discusses with the customer during their next visit. She makes recommendations about furniture, fabric, and accessories. Customers seem to like her suggestions as many of the customers have made purchases based upon her recommendations. These same customers have given Amie's name to their friends and family members, resulting in a growing customer base. NEIT's Interior Design Technology program prepared Amie well for her first position in the design field. She said the program was "intense and covered the things that are important in the field, especially CAD, room design, furniture concepts and understanding the customer's wants and needs." She is still amazed that her first position "exceeds my expectations and is exactly what I wanted to do." Amie's career is off to a great start; not bad for someone who just turned 20 years old.

Commencement Ceremony Puts Anthony Family on New Journey


From l-r: Dianne, Lincoln, Joy, Grace, and (standing) Shawn.

Dianne Anthony and her children Joy, Lincoln and Grace took the trip from Connecticut to the RI Convention Center to see her son and their brother, Shawn Moses, graduate from NEIT. They were extremely proud of Shawn and were looking forward to seeing him graduate, but had hoped that the ceremony wouldn't be similar to the long and boring high school commencements they had attended. Instead, what they found was an event that had a profound impact on all of them. They were moved by the excitement of the graduates and their families; the large and impressive venue; the moving speech given by honorary degree recipient, Christopher Reeve; and the accomplishment of the graduates in their ability to finish a degree in 18 months. It was that day that they decided to all pursue a degree at New England Tech.

In July 2002, all four of them began their academic journey, each choosing degree programs that suited their personal interests and goals. Dianne, whose background includes 12 years in the insurance industry and most recently in the printing industry, is currently enrolled in the Clinical Medical Assistant Technology program. Joy, who had attended two colleges in New Jersey without obtaining a degree is now enrolled in the Computerized Business Management Technology program. Lincoln, who prior to enrolling was left unemployed when the company he was working at went out of business, is now a student in the Video and Radio Production Technology program. Lastly, Grace, who has had a strong interest in interior design since high school, is enrolled in the college's Interior Design Technology program.

Shawn is a graduate of NEIT's Automotive Technology program, and is currently enrolled in the bachelor degree program in Business Management Technology. He had seven years of automotive experience prior to NEIT through the military as well as his employment at Inskip Lexus and Goodyear. He never had in-depth training in internal repairs and diagnostics, and wanted to round out his knowledge. Shawn really enjoyed the Automotive Technology program, and credits the faculty of both his technical and general education courses for making the experience so enjoyable.

While they are in school, Dianne, Joy, Lincoln and Grace will live in Shawn's home with his wife and children. They enjoy being together and are extremely supportive of one another. The four children all consider their mother, Dianne, a role model and are quick to praise her decision to return to school. As they go through the next 18 months, they know there will be friendly competition and the shared expectation that they will finish their respective programs on schedule so that they will all cross the same commencement stage.

Erik VanRenselaar (right), Assistant Professor and Associate Department Chair of the Computer Information Systems Technology Department, was recently presented with a plaque of recognition by Executive Vice President, Seth Kurn, for his efforts on behalf of the college's Retention Committee.