How a Graduate Student Is Blending Interior Design With School Counseling
Sebastian Melendez ’24, G’26 arrived at Syracuse University from Grand Island, Nebraska, with two passions that, at first glance, might not seem a natural pairing. He wanted to study interior design, and he also wanted to give back to his community, yet he wasn’t sure how—or whether—those two paths could coexist.
A minor in Education Studies from the School of Education, paired with his B.F.A. in Environmental and Interior Design from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, gave him room to explore both careers rather than choose between them. By the time he graduated in 2024, Melendez had found his answer: he enrolled in SOE’s M.S. in School Counseling (P-12) program, intent on carrying his design sensibility—including an eye for who belongs in a space, and who gets overlooked—into the work of supporting students.
Now completing his master’s degree program, Melendez has spent the past two years balancing internships at Syracuse City School District (SCSD) and nearby West Genesee High School with a full life outside the classroom, working as an interior design intern at Syracuse-based Dwyer Architectural and volunteering with Young Life Syracuse East, a Christian ministry where he leads worship and group fitness.
That range and depth of interest shows up in how he talks about his time at SOE, as a period of personal growth as much as professional preparation. We asked Melendez to reflect on his experience in the School Counseling program.
Throughout my time with SOE, numerous experiences played a role, but one of note occurred during an extremely hard week at my internship with SCSD. It was very easy to get overwhelmed with so much on my plate during a master’s program, and I was burnt out from work, classes, an internship and numerous deadlines.
I got on campus one day that week and walked past the Hall of Languages, pausing to take it in and look back on my journey. Although I had been a Syracuse student for about six years at that point, the past two years of my educational, professional and personal journey had been dramatically changed while being a school counseling student.
While looking at the Hall of Languages, I thought back to the growth that my program had put me through, how supportive each of my professors had been and the friendships that have now turned into my found family. I was able to sit there in that instant and say to myself, “I am right where I need to be.”
One thing I expected with SOE, and in particular its school counseling program, was that I would gain the skills to work with others through problems, concerns and trials they may be facing, especially with my target age range of middle and high schoolers who are in desperate need of support. I trusted my professors and my future internships to provide me with the experiential learning that could further flesh out these skills.
With that said, I never expected my studies to hold a mirror to myself. Through our lectures, readings, projects and placements in the field, I was not only encouraged but ethically obligated to work through parts of my life that often got swept under the rug.
The same skills and theories I work through with my students, I applied to my own life, whether it was having a difficult conversation I have been avoiding, biases, taking an opportunity I was nervous about or just stepping out of my comfort zone. I knew that I would grow professionally, but I never anticipated personal growth and transformation throughout this program.
Several of my classmates have been immensely supportive. Before becoming a master’s student, I was an interior design student. I wanted to find a way to combine my passions for supporting students with designing welcoming and safe spaces for those who may be overlooked and underrepresented. Approaching these two varying fields came with a lot of uncertainty about how I would blend them in my professional career. Through discussions with my peers, I was able to see that I was not alone in this journey and in navigating various pursuits.
With these chats came acceptance and comfort, and I fleshed out my “why,” along with unique ways of incorporating my design background into my counseling approach and thinking outside the box about how I will meld both fields in the future.
Outside of my own future navigation, having peers in the thick of a master’s program alongside me took away the outlook that I am facing this educational journey alone. Others can face the challenge with me and support me, and I can support them.
