Corporate Environments (CE) is a furniture and architectural solutions provider based in Atlanta. In addition to the quality furnishings and architectural solutions, CE provides a range of professional services, including design, project management, and installation. Over the years, CE has built a relationship across UGA, especially with the Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors Department in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) at the University of Georgia.
About once a semester, the Furnishings and Interiors (FI) class takes a field trip to CE’s office and showroom in Atlanta to see the space and meet with employees to hear about careers in the industry.
It was on one of these trips that senior FI major Riley Shivitz was introduced to some of the designers at the CE office. Shivitz was later interviewed and hired as the summer design intern.
“I wouldn’t have known about Corporate Environments if it wasn’t for UGA putting them on our field trip,” Shivitz said.
Shivitz said the company gave her a warm welcome. On her first day, she was introduced to every person in the office. While working at CE, Shivitz participated in large-scale projects that helped her gain real-life experience in the industry.
Keli Burns, the Director of Marketing at CE, says that CE wants to help support UGA students who are looking to go into this profession.
“I think that it is always important to give back to the community and also invest in the next generation of where industry is headed,” Burns said.
Burns is among several UGA alumni who now work at CE.
“It’s our gift back, we want these students to succeed,” Burns said.
Alongside CE’s commitment to mentorship, the company has also contributed a scholarship for FI students to go on FACS’s New York Study Away Trip for the past two summers. Last year, the scholarship supported four students.
This scholarship gives students the opportunity to visit showrooms and corporate offices in New York City, including Knoll. Dr. Lilia Gomez-Lanier, an assistant professor of Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors, has led this trip for the past three years.
“These dollars give such a payback because it’s one thing when we have our history class and they see these iconic pieces on the screen in a PowerPoint. It’s another when they can actually sit in them,” Gomez-Lanier said.
These generous contributions to the FI program help guide students down their career paths as they are able to experience their major in the real world.
In addition to supporting students, CE has played a key role in design projects across campus, including “The Launch Pad” in Creswell Hall, the Georgia Center, and the Center for Molecular Medicine.
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