Students Making Their Mark
By Pete Rosenbery
Sara Diesburg and Chol “Simon” Ajoksis are just two of the students in the College of Applied Sciences and Arts for whom creativity and hard work pay off.
Diesburg, a senior interior design major from Paxton, was one of five finalists in a recent nationwide design competition looking for the vision of a future classroom. Diesburg’s entry to the NEXT Student Design Competition was among more than 800 from college students in the United States and Canada. Students from programs accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation were eligible to compete.
Diesburg’s design for a new academic building at a fictitious small liberal arts college features a floor plan that includes a circular classroom. She met with executives from the competition’s sponsor, Steelcase, in Grand Rapids, Mich., for three days in early January. The judges were “genuinely interested in the design ideas that the other competitors and I brought to the table,” she said.
“I could definitely see that the type of people who are drawn to this profession of interior design, architecture, and product design are the types of people I would love to work with; so many creative thoughts always bouncing around, and always asking why and wanting to understand more about anything and everything,” Diesburg said.
All of the students in Assistant Professor Laura Morthland’s Interior Design 491 corporate design studio course in fall 2014 submitted in-class entries and internal judges chose work by Diesburg and Samantha Harden, another senior in interior design, as contest entrants. Last year, Taylor Behl, a May 2014 SIU Carbondale graduate who is now working with a design firm in St. Louis, was among the competition’s 10 semifinalists, Morthland said.
The national competition was a “great learning experience in the way of presenting to a ‘client’ essentially,” Diesburg said, who is actively applying for interior design positions.
“That is the type of real-world experience that is hard to mimic in the educational setting,” she said.
Competitors were given one-on-one time with three of the five judges to do portfolio reviews -- students showed their best work and asked questions about how an employer may perceive their work and how it is represented in the portfolios.
“The judges were able to give me valuable feedback that helped to inspire me to revamp my portfolio and really dig into the graphic design of it,” she said. “As an interior designer, possessing other types of design skills such as being able to graphically represent information in a pleasing way is a valuable asset. I think, now, my new portfolio says that.”
Ajoksis, meanwhile, continues to work hard to realize his future.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in aviation management in December, Ajoksis enrolled in the university’s Master of Public Administration program with a concentration on aviation. Giving God thanks, Ajoksis, who spent 13 years in refugee camps as one of “The Lost Boys of Sudan,” said earning his degree “was an unexplainable feeling.” Ajoksis gives thanks to those involved in the MPA program for accepting him.
“I have to finish what I started,” he said. “I know it’s not a piece of cake, it’s a hard rock. But I pray for his grace and wisdom to guide me on how to bring down this rock.”
The civil war in Sudan that broke out in the early 1980s forced thousands of children to flee their homes for safety. As a 10 year old, Ajoksis ran in the Sudanese bush for several months, not knowing where he was going other than to escape gunfire. He stayed in camps in Ethiopia and northern Kenya before resettling in the United States through the efforts of Dallas-area churches. His parents are deceased and a brother became ill and died. A sister lives in South Sudan.
Ajoksis worked several jobs in Texas after arriving in the United States just days after Sept. 11, and moved his wife and three children to Southern Illinois in 2012 to continue his education. Ajoksis is a naturalized U.S. citizen and lives in Carbondale with his wife, Ayen, daughters Blessing and Glory, and son, Emmanuel.
José R. Ruiz, professor and chair of the Department of Aviation Management and Flight, said it is difficult to fathom the struggles that Ajoksis and others faced before coming to the United States.
“He embraces education,” Ruiz said. “He sees it as a gift. He has that kind of an attitude. A lot of folks take that for granted and he doesn’t.”
Since arriving in fall 2012, Ajoksis worked several jobs to help defray expenses, including as a home health care assistant, at the Illinois Secretary of State facility in Carbondale and at a local fast food restaurant. He started his own cab service, “Jet Taxi.” He is enthusiastic about pursuing his private pilot’s license through the aviation flight program.
Ajoksis envisions returning one day to what is now the Republic of South Sudan, saying that he cannot just “gain information and sit on it.” He would like to help the nation build the best airports and improve the educational system.
“I need to be one of those people who can bring change to my country one day,” he said.
“America is a land of opportunity. You don’t have to sit in your room and watch TV 24/7,” he said. “You have to run after opportunity. You have to look at what you can do.”