Cary Reynolds
Cary B. Reynolds of Amory always thought he鈥檇 be a Mississippi State Bulldog like both his parents and older brother were.
In fact, some of his fondest memories from childhood include running on the Drill Field on football game days while his family tailgated close by.
Choosing the right major was a bit more challenging, Reynolds remembered. After a year of community college, his search for the right career path led him to interior design, and he knew the time was right to enroll at Mississippi State.
鈥淚 met Dr. Beth Miller, and she talked to me about what interior design really is,鈥 Reynolds said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 what I thought, and I realized how important it is and what a big need there is for good design.鈥 Miller is a professor and director of MSU鈥檚 Interior Design program.
Now a senior, Reynolds said the longer he has been a student in the program, the more he has continued to learn about what a career in the field entails.
鈥淚nterior design isn鈥檛 drapes and themes,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 space planning, floorplans and concepts. Interior design is about human-centered design regarding how people interact with their environments, codes and accessibly guidelines.鈥
His work to design the 鈥淲aterfall Chair,鈥 drawing inspiration from mid-century modern designs of the 1950s, earned him a scholarship this year from the International Furniture Design Association.
Reynolds said he works to educate others about the importance of interior design and feels he has found his right fit at the university he has always considered to be the right place for him.