Alicia Diaz

I'm currently an undergraduate in an Interior Design Bachelor program at Bellevue College in Washington State to pursue a career in Interior Design and Architecture with the ambition of owning my own firm one day. I grew up in the Seattle area all my life with my hard-working father, who I consider to be my role model. Money has always been an issue for my family, but my father pushed me to enroll in college and supported me throughout my journey. After a year of taking classes at BC figuring out what I wanted to pursue as a career that I would be happy with for many years, I decided to take my first studio class for interior design since art, design, and architecture have always been an interest of mine since high school. As I got further into the program, my passion and curiosity for design and architecture pushed me to work hard in all my classes, and I started to receive grades and GPA's that I never received in high school because of my dyslexia and learning disability interfering, but I wouldn't let it control or interfere my time in college, so I worked twice as hard to learn and comprehend the material being taught.
Getting closer to receiving my associate's in Interior Studies, I was very eager to start applying for internships and being involved in the community since I did volunteer work at a local church for two years and enjoyed every minute of giving back to the community. Unfortunately, I was involved in a car accident in October of 2020. It required me to change the way I live my daily life, which was a struggle for me and still is, but I've stayed determined and committed to continue the program and face the challenges of my car accident. Through the year, I was able to get my associate's and get into the BAA program for Interior design, but my health started to take a turn, and unfortunately, I had to quit my job in retail and focus on my health. My college experience and time at BC in the program where I've met many intelligent professors and creative peers have kept me going in the program, along with Walter Baz Interior Design Scholarship being so supportive and assisting me with getting my academic timeline back on tract. Due to my circumstance and the pandemic, I, unfortunately, don't have much volunteer work or in-person community-oriented work, but I'm very excited to start getting involved and giving back!