Ashley Abaunza ’24 (MFA1) 

This Alumni Scholarship Winner is Already Giving Back to NYSID

Ashley Abaunza, in her final year of the MFA1 Program at NYSID during 2024, received the Alumni Scholarship in front of a ballroom full of interior design luminaries at Gala 2023. The Alumni Scholarship is funded entirely by alumni of the College. In addition to excelling academically, Abaunza has spent her time at NYSID bolstering the NYSID community. She is the president of the IIDA Campus Center and has participated in charitable projects, designing a sensory garden for the Lavelle School of the Blind and NYSID’s first Design on a Dime room vignette. At the gala, she said, “Receiving this award makes me feel  ‘seen’ for the time and energy I have invested in my studies and in the NYSID community as the president of the IIDA campus center.”  

Like so many NYSID students, Abaunza is a career changer. She is transitioning to interior design from an early career in experiential marketing. Many career changers take on loans and juggle part-time jobs to afford their higher education at NYSID. She said, “Thanks to the Alumni Scholarship, I now can go deeper into projects without having to devote time to another part-time job. I will be able to pursue internships based on how they fit in with my future goals versus how they fit in with my financial picture.”

Abaunza, in her last year at the College, adds, “I look forward to being a part of NYSID’s forever community, and continuing the tradition of alumni who not only succeed but also return to share that success with students.”