You can find a PDF of my resume by clicking right here! Alternatively, view my LinkedIn by clicking here!

I am currently studying at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and will graduate in May 2026. I am pursuing a BDes (focusing on Products), with an additional major in Environmental & Sustainability Studies. I enjoy filling any time I have leftover with theatrical and vocal performance. I am currently President of The Originals, an A Cappella singing student organization on campus. Between semesters, I frequently return to my hometown just west of Chicago to work on personal design projects and relax amongst friends and family.

I will graduate in May 2026 and aim to find work with a smaller-scale product design firm or business that values environmentalism and open-minded collaboration to develop a range of experience in designing different products. In the longer-term, I also aim to further develop my company, Treevas LLC, selling sustainable products of my own design. In any form, I dream of giving people access to high-quality, affordable, equitable, truly sustainable products.

As a child, I always said I wanted to become an "inventor." I had a million Legos and marble tracks, I made some weird cars and contraptions out of popsicle sticks, and I was obsessed with the show "How It's Made." My parents noticed and ever since have supported me and my crazy ideas. Throughout high school, I played around with game design and coding, and then moved onto art and fashion design as I incorporated my business, Treevas LLC. For each idea, I would put together a presentation and project it onto the TV in my living room to convince my parents to give me the few hundred dollars I needed to fund the idea.

In my junior year of high school, I began researching college opportunities. I became curious how I could leave college knowing how to design, manufacture, distribute, and market products. Discussing this passion with my parents, my Mom directed me to her brother's old college roommate by the name of Matt Zabel, who is now a Senior Design Manager at 3M. Intrigued by the work he was doing, I reached out to him, and he responded back with almost 700 words talking me through his journey toward discovering Industrial Design. He used IDEO's iconic shopping cart redesign from the 90s as an example, and funnily enough just days prior I had been listening to an audiobook that covered the same story. I quickly realized that I was on the same journey he had taken.

I was ecstatic to discover the design industry because I paralleled "design" so closely with "invention." I have since been blessed with the opportunity to pursue this passion at Carnegie Mellon University's renowned School of Design.

My brain is drawn to organization, numbers, and geometry; I like when things add up, line up, are even, make sense, and aren't cluttered. Insurmountable evidence confirms that Earth's climate will reach 1.5°F warmer than it should in the coming decades, the consequences of which will be devastating. With this evidence, I see something that doesn't add up or make sense, at a global scale.

Environmentalism isn't so much a choice for me as it is a responsibility. The climate crisis is highly interdisciplinary and no singular design, solution, person, or thing is going to solve it; Regardless, I dedicate my best work to it, putting my time towards trying to making a tangible impact on what I consider our greatest global threat.

On a more positive note, I love imagining a world that is truly sustainable. I see pieces of it slowly emerging in businesses like local food co-ops, resale and repair shops, online thrifting stores, etc.; And I'm really drawn to the concepts of "Solarpunk" that imagines a future that is "equally communal, sustainable, and technologically advanced." It can be framed as the good ending compared to the corporate greed and urban decay of "cyberpunk."

I take special interest in sustainable product design, circular consumer markets, environmental economics, sustainable management of solid waste, and green urban design.

I appreciate two projects from my portfolio the most for two distinct reasons.

When it comes to end results, I was most excited when I released the second edition of my clothing line (see my "2022 Treevas Clothing" project page). From the brand identity, web design, the message and significance that it held for me, and the fact that it was all 100% original, it is my proudest project as of 2023; It all felt so cohesive and it represented me and my passions perfectly.

When it comes to the design process and becoming the best designer I can be, my Ravinia Festival Poster Competition submission comes to mind first. The documentation, process work, storytelling, and composition were all well-thought-out and well-executed.

These two projects are my favorite from the past, but I'm always most excited about what I have planned next. See more about this below.

In no particular order, the people, places, and things listed below consistently inspire me and my work.

(1) My parents. My father is an architect, my mother is an architect turned urban planner, and my sister is studying to become an urban planner focusing on sustainability. Coming from a family with decades of experience and interest surrounding design and environmentalism has proven to be a very valuable resource, and their wisdom has influenced my creative character positively.

(2) My professors and peers. My School of Design professors have inspired me to branch out and experiment with many facets of design I never would have otherwise, and have provided me with the skillsets and resources that will lead me into the design industry. My Environmental & Sustainability Studies professors have exposed me to the details of our climatic fate, shown me projects that are either succeeding or failing, and facilitated necessary interdisciplinary conversation for me with students from other schools. Additionally, the successes of my immediate peers and alumni in both Design and Environmental & Sustainability Studies inspire me and my work, whether it be the level of craft in the prototype sitting on the desk of my studio neighbor, or the renewable energy projects of the geniuses in Mechanical and Environmental Engineering.

(3) The books and design publications I read. Some of my favorite books and publications as of late are "Communication Arts," "Braiding Sweetgrass," "Silent Spring," "Cradle to Cradle," and "Project Drawdown." These books as well as the others in the queue give me consistent verbal and visual examples of work that is done right, in every sense of the word.

(4) Successful sustainable businesses. There are so many really amazing sustainable companies succeeding today, and they constantly fill me with joy and inspiration that one day I can achieve something similar to what they have. I see it locally in businesses like food co-ops and resale & repair shops, and I see it online with online resale and thrift stores, and businesses like Public Goods, Tentree, CHNGE, Rivian, July A/C, Mud Jeans, Lomi, and Girlfriend Collective.

(5) "Solarpunk." I'm really drawn to the concepts of "Solarpunk" that imagines a future that is "equally communal, sustainable, and technologically advanced." It can be framed as the good ending compared to the corporate greed and urban decay of "cyberpunk." I enjoy the artwork found online that imagines the aesthetic, and I plan to someday produce some of my own.

Treevas LLC is my incorporated business. I use it to legally sell my products and artwork (see my Shop page). However, "Treevas" is also a concept I developed in 2020 for my first clothing brand (see my "2020 Treevas Clothing" project page. The concept is is described as follows:

Treevas recognizes Earth as a canvas. Trees being the core of all things nature, I like to imagine our canvas not just covered, but weaved with them. Treevas means designing to reconnect with nature, applicable to anything from our bedrock to exosphere, to foster a truly sustainable, equitable Earth.

To read a more recent concept that better describes my design ethos from 2023, navigate to my "Boy Walk Earth Brand Identity" project page!