Victoria Poole

College Friend

“I never would have survived being involved in a big university. SMC was the perfect place to start my discovery process.”

“Interior design is like being a conductor or a director,” says Victoria Poole about her chosen field. “It’s about having a vision, understanding requirements and tying it all together in three dimensions. It’s incredibly challenging because there are nothing but problems to deal with. But you learn to think on your feet and keep your mind on your vision.”

Victoria says that among her favorite memories of SMC is an art history class she took with Jim Urmston. “I remember he used to sit right on his desk and lecture without any notes. And you could see that here was a man talking about something he really loved,” says Victoria. “And that passion was very inspirational to me.”

Inspiration is a commodity that Victoria found in abundance during five years she spent with the Walt Disney company. “I worked on the Epcot Center,” she says, “and I designed shops and restaurants and public spaces. It was exciting to be surrounded by such an imaginary environment.” And she feels that it was a terrific professional experience to match her imagination with Walt Disney.

Victoria says that her stay at SMC, “where I took all kinds of classes and switched majors about six times,” was a time of deep discovery for her. “While I was there, I matured enough to make things really click for me,” she says. “My training at SMC made me feel very well prepared to go and handle whatever came next. I really loved it there and it came along at the perfect time for me,” she continues. “It got me so turned on to learning and making my own discoveries about all the wonders of the world.”

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