Briehn Wildman Interior Design Florida Community College

Designs On Success

Briehn Wildman
Florida Community College, Class of 2003

For as long as she can remember, Briehn Wildman has been fascinated by design. What started with a penchant for rearranging furniture as a child has today become a rewarding career as an interior designer for RS&H, headquartered in Jacksonville. And FCCJ was a key stop on her path to success.

Briehn discovered the opportunities FCCJ offered almost by accident. “After a stint of living in Boston,” she said, “I had moved back to Jacksonville to care for my elderly grandfather. Before hatching my own FCCJ plan, I had been helping my brother Hustin create a class schedule. I came across the design coursework in the course catalog. I had been maintaining a fantasy plan to become a retail designer and signed up that very semester to set the plan in motion. FCCJ’s programs and schedules allowed me to take night classes so that I could care for my grandfather during the day and go to class at night.”

By that time, Briehn had already earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boston University. But her fondness for a course involving graphic design rekindled her excitement for the design field. “I discovered that a degree in interior design combined with my marketing background would put me on the path to my dream job. I registered for the interior design classes at FCCJ and worked my way through them until completing my degree in December of 2003.”

Once in the program, she found plenty of inspiration in her teachers. “The biggest influences were the educators and what they brought to the table,” Briehn said, citing textiles teacher Betsy Davis and AutoCAD instructor Patrick Land for their influence on her. Marketing instructor Penny Houchens was also instrumental in helping Briehn land an internship as well as her first job in the interior design field.

Briehn believes FCCJ prepared her well for her career. “The combination of the internship and educators who work in the field are both critical steps in teaching design students what the job is really all about and what it takes to make it.”

Briehn’s experience has taught her the importance of following a dream. “I believe that responsibility for one’s dreams is in the hands of the individual. Find what makes you happy and do the work it takes to make it happen. The tools are there for the taking, and there are people out there who are ready and willing to help you find your way.” Thanks to hard work and the help of FCCJ, Briehn is indeed finding her own way — and achieving a great deal of success in the process.

Briehn gets enormous satisfaction from her work with RS&H. “I absolutely love my job, and I go to work most days with a big cheesy grin on my face. I have had the opportunity to work on some terrific projects, including restaurants, golf and country clubs, retail spaces, and the recently remodeled FCCJ Deerwood Center as well as the FCCJ Aerospace Resource Center at Cecil Field. Thanks FCCJ!”