Meet our MFA Design candidates for 2012. We asked them to answer the following:

1. What was noteworthy about your first year at MFAD?
   2. What is your favorite NYC experience?
   3. What was your favorite assignment was from first year?
   Here are Melissa Gorman's responses:

2. My first year at MFAD was intense and exhilarating. After being self-employed for almost ten years prior to reentering academia, I was no stranger to late nights, but nothing could have prepared me for the intensity of year one of the program. While it was happening, I was overwhelmed by the challenge of the projects and the short time-frames allotted to deliver what felt like impossible tasks. However, what I found again and again, was that it WAS possible, and that I was being stretched creatively in a way I hadn't before, often with satisfying results. This was what I came back to school for, and discovering I could achieve things I never thought were in my grasp has been immensely beneficial.

3. I've been in NYC for almost 15 years, and grew up in the area, so there's not much new to experience – but I have come to enjoy interacting with Manhattan on a more regular basis.

4. My favorite assignment from last year is hard to pin, but I think the one that had the most impact on me was the last project for Scott Stowell's class. We had to explain ourselves through our work. It made me face the challenge I'd been struggling with for years: how to define myself as artist, designer, and observer. Through the project I was able to see that the three sides could live together harmoniously and gave me a unique way to showcase both my personality and my work.