The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) on campus held their annual career night Thursday.

Members of ASID include designers, industry representatives, educators and students committed to interior design. Through education, advocacy, community building and outreach, the organization tries to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people’s lives. More than 24,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada.

On Charger Connection, ASID is, “devoted to supporting each other in our studies, and to encourage one another to explore possibilities for their future career path in Interior Design.”

During career night, students can talk to interior design companies. .

“Career night gives students exposure to networking opportunities and having them meet with people in the field who work in the firms currently,” said Ariel Williams, co-president of IISA. “For this event we had sponsors come in and show the students their products and what’s special about them if they are hiring if they’re having lunch and learns which are really important.”

The night included a portfolio review and speed networking. Seniors who have been building their portfolios since their freshman years had the opportunity to show their work to local employers. The employers give comments, critiques and advice to the students on what their firms are looking for and what the students could do to improve their portfolios.

During the speed networking, students who didn’t have their resumes or portfolios had five minutes to talk to employers and ask questions. After five minutes, students rotated to another employer. Students rotated to other rooms to either speed network or have their portfolios reviewed.

The portfolio reviews and speed networking were followed by a panel discussion of four employers. Students asked more questions and got more in depth answers.

Vice President of ASID Michael Patchen said, “I think tonight went very well for the parameters that we were given. We had pretty much planned everything ourselves and I think everything went really well with that.”

“ I got to speed network, I got to give employers my resume, I got to have conversations started that I normally wouldn’t have if I would have gone out by myself,” said Williams.