Promising Future

“Higher education is something I’ve always been interested in,” states Dipali Aphale, a senior in Industrial Design who will soon be graduating (5.12.2017). “My dad has a PhD, my mom and my sister have their masters. I see the benefit of career advancement and application of what they learned through their education.”

After graduation, Aphale will be heading to the Royal College of Art in London to continue her studies in Global Innovation Design. “Undergrad was kind of my stepping-stone in learning what I wanted,” she shares. Originally she came to the College of Design to study Architecture, however, through the First Year Experience program, realized her interests were more geared towards industrial design.

London may seem a long distance away, however, Aphale is well traveled having visited 13 countries and an important criterion was to experience education in a different culture. The 2-year program at Royal College is a design initiative that combines three major centers of design, culture, enterprise and industry, and also incorporates extended learning experiences in Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, and New York. Aphale has previously studied abroad in Prague and Soule, South Korea.

She is ambitious, driven, and appreciates the opportunities available to her. “I am super blessed to be able to do these things with the support of my parents, both supportively and financially,” says Aphale. Her parents are immigrants who have taken a similar path of heading to another country in the pursuit of higher education. “They are excited and want me to see my dreams through.”

Asked what she is most excited about, Aphale is quick to respond, “I am looking forward to the diversity of people that I am going to encounter. As a global school —you will meet people with different levels of skill sets and job experiences and there will be so many fruitful barriers that will only help your design process grow.” She is also looking forward to being challenged. “There are layers of learning curves when you start something new. I’ve lived here for 17 years and I know it so well. I am now going to a place where I must learn both skillsets and cultural changes—a multiple learning curve—hopefully it will be something I can accomplish.”

Aphale is also excited to hone her talents for the good of others in the areas of medical design and educational reform, which she defines as forms of social design. “I’m really interested in the environmental and sustainability efforts of Europe—they are far more advanced than us—these focused areas need to be at the forefront of design. You can’t have anything without the environment of sustainability.”

As she prepares to graduate and looks ahead to an exciting future, Aphale is eager to apply what she has learned at the College of Design. “The College has been an incredible outlet to learn about myself and other human environments and enforced my love of leadership and others. In grad school, I will be able to apply what I’ve learned, tangibly.”