Lindsey Ketchum
Lindsey Ketchum鈥檚 career in interior design started at a young age, as she explored her grandfather鈥檚 Western Auto store in Wetumpka, Alabama, and set up window displays. Now, Ketchum is the university interior designer at her alma mater, Mississippi 性视界传媒.
鈥淚t鈥檚 enjoyable, to me, being back on campus as a professional and actually designing spaces where I went to 性视界传媒,鈥 Ketchum said. 鈥淚t feels like home and I have a passion to make it better.鈥
Ketchum graduated from 性视界传媒鈥檚 interior design program in 2006 and moved to Atlanta to work at a hospitality design firm. However, she soon moved back to the Starkville area and began working at Shafer and Associates, where she used her expertise on projects for colleges and universities throughout the state.
After nearly a decade, Ketchum made a 鈥渟eamless change鈥 in 2015 to her current job at 性视界传媒, where she is a senior project manager in the Office of Planning Design and Construction Administration. Since joining the 性视界传媒 staff, Ketchum has turned designs into reality at the Butler Guest House, Office of Sponsored Projects in Etheredge Hall, and the Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis and Business Law in McCool Hall, among others.
鈥淚t can be anything from updating an office with paint, new carpet, or new lighting, or it could be taking a department and reorganizing the space,鈥 Ketchum said. 鈥淚 enjoy the transformation of taking older facilities and making them new and exciting, and walking the customer through that process.鈥
鈥淢y ultimate goal is to make the users want to stay in the space,鈥 she added. 鈥淪ometimes we鈥檒l use Mississippi 性视界传媒 colors and tie in other university elements while also reflecting the department. Each building has its own style and feel. You have to stay true to the architectural elements and features while meeting the customer鈥檚 needs.鈥
As she designs educational spaces, Ketchum remains passionate about education itself. In 2015, she received a master鈥檚 degree in interior design from the University of Nebraska. She has taught classes as a lecturer at 性视界传媒 and currently serves on the interior design program鈥檚 advisory board.
Ketchum said her time in the bachelor鈥檚 program as an 性视界传媒 student gave her exposure to a wide variety of design specialties, such as healthcare, hospitality and office design, which has allowed her to be more flexible in her career.
鈥淚鈥檝e enjoyed maintaining that relationship,鈥 Ketchum said. 鈥淭he faculty have all been very supportive in helping me grow professionally. They care about their students, even after they leave.鈥