Advisory Council Member Spotlight: Seka Collins
Seka Collins, IIDA, EDAC and Registered Interior Designer in the State of Florida
seka@rdid.org
The Department of Interior Design is fortunate in its relationship to its Advisory Council composed of design practitioners, industry colleagues as well as student members. Each offers a voice of support and guidance for the Department, advocating for student success and helping the Department to maintain its connection to the world of design practice.
Among these Advisory Council members is Seka Collins who joined this supportive group in 2020. An alumnus of the program graduating in 2004, Ms. Collins has walked the walk of the student to career professional. Among her many assets she brings to the Council is the diversity of her practice experiences ranging from engagement with mid-size and large architecture firms including Cannon Design in Jacksonville to product representation. She has developed projects in the higher education, corporate, healthcare, hospitality and residential design sectors in both Florida and Texas and has served as Director of Design for Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida. Ms. Collins is currently a designer with Rebecca Davisson Interior Design in Jacksonville, which offers commercial and residential services.
Ms. Collins models professional values for students through her registration as an interior designer in Florida and her position as Vice President of Student Affairs and Vice President of Advocacy with the International Interior Design Association. Her certificate in Evidence-Based Design (EDAC) similarly demonstrates her commitment to practice excellence.
Seka Collins’ engagement with the Department has also included service on a panel of design practitioners offering career advice to IAD students at the 2022 Career Fair event, and she does not hesitate to share what her experiences have told her. For example, she advocates that students enroll in business management courses to benefit office processes in their future careers. Her advice is practical and in tune with intersections of design as a career and the stages of life, saying,“the advice I give is travel. Take advantage of the study abroad programs, travel for your job, get out and experience the world. Once life settles in, it is more difficult to find the time that you have now as a student.”
The Department is fortunate to have Seka Collins’ voice of experience among its many Advisory Council members, nurturing and maintaining an important link to design career success for the betterment of students.