Student Work Experience

We've worked with local universities + schools to provide valuable work experience for students. Our internship program provides opportunities for youth to gain valuable work experience to cultivate their professional skills, provide one-on-one meetings with mentors and Herman Miller staff, learning sessions with members of our leadership team, as well as working alongside projects for portfolio development.

This past summer, COI Vancouver was happy to bring on two Interior Design students from Kwantlen University for our Internship program. We partnered with Herman Miller to provide the training they needed to ensure they met their personal goals while also being involved with our current projects. We sat down with Cassidy and Breanna to chat about why they chose to work with COI and what they got out of their experiences.

Why did you choose Herman Miller and Contemporary Office Interiors?

Cassidy: "I chose Herman Miller because of the exposure I had with it from school and I had heard and seen great things coming from them. Once I researched a bit more into the company I found that the values and mission statement stuck with me and I thought it would be something I would enjoy coming to."

Breanna: "I was interested in learning about the joint relationship between manufacturing and the dealership and how they relate to the designer’s process. COI as a HM dealership provided access to all areas of my interests."

How did you see this internship as a way to help develop your career path?

Cassidy: "I saw this internship as an opportunity to expose myself to the real world of design and how it differentiates from school. I also wanted to develop connections within the industry and have resources for the future. Getting a glimpse of HM and COI to see what kind of office it was and the atmosphere within the office was helpful if I ever decide I want to work there in the future."

Breanna: "I agree, I wanted to gain work experience to fill the gaps that are missing in standard curriculum. As a student you don’t learn the skills that come from networking, or gaining the knowledge that working professionals have."

What did you enjoy most about your time with us?

Cassidy: "I thoroughly enjoyed the site visits. Tyler took us on to be able to see what an end product looks like after countless hours of work behind the scenes. I also really enjoyed sitting in on call/meetings to see what real life looks like."

Breanna: "We got to go with the COI + HM teams to visit the sites currently being worked on. It was a great opportunity to see the design process in action and meet the architecture and design firms involved in the process. It was a great way to make new connections and to learn more!"