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Will Baker felt that he was returning to his roots and true-life path when he decided to pursue a new career in architectural lighting design. Will’s learning journey began as a Studio Art major before changing majors and finishing his bachelor’s degree in Building Science, with a focus on Architectural Technology and Design. But graduating into a recession led to Will setting aside his design dreams, instead pursuing a master’s degree in accounting and working for a major banking corporation. His soul’s longing for more from life next led Will to become a Registered Nurse, a career that held his commitment for more than five years, stretching him in new ways. But ultimately, Will recognized that he is an artist and designer by nature, with good instincts for many types of design. That love of design combined with a childhood fascination with lights – he has deeply embedded memories of walking the fan and light aisles of hardware stores as a young child with a sense of awe and wonder – gave Will the motivation to finally pursue his heart’s desires and enroll in the Architectural Lighting Certificate at �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder.��
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"The thought of being able to create a career path from a combination of art, design and lighting very much stirs my creative spirit. I also realize the health benefits, both mental and physical, that proper natural and indoor lighting can have on an individual or group. I am thrilled to participate in this program at �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder."

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After attaining her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and Art / Art History in 2020, Tatiana proceeded to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Design from the Dynamic Media Institute at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2022. Convinced that she could play a role in improving human environments, whether physical or virtual, she accepted an offer from a woman-owned architectural lighting design firm based in the mid-Atlantic. Her on-the-job learning through self-teaching and mentoring from a seasoned professional stimulated a
hunger for more formal learning opportunities where she could engage in a dynamic, interactive process with other like-minded students. She joined the �鶹��Ѱ�����program after learning about the course during an IES Emerging Professional event at the Annual Conference. That small firm has since merged with Apeiro Design, a nationally known multi-faceted lighting design firm, opening further opportunities for Tatiana’s growth and learning.
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“I believe the �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Lighting Certificate Program provided the perfect opportunity to fill my various gaps of knowledge in both the technical and creative aspects of lighting, and it instilled me with confidence in this new field. As a new professional with existing school loans and other payments, I greatly appreciated the financial assistance as I was covering the cost of the program on my own.”

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Building on a bachelor’s degree in theater and international relations, Josy Jones pursued opportunities in site-specific theater, focusing on community engagement, telling untold stories, and pushing the boundaries of traditional performance. In this pursuit, she has been an arts administrator, director, performer, teaching artist, playwright and more. At the heart of her work is the belief that art—whether through theatre or design—can reshape narratives, spaces, and relationships. Along the way, Josy realized the power of lighting design to shape human experiences. Similar to site-specific theatre, where the space itself becomes a collaborator in the story, Josy approaches architectural lighting as a way to reframe how we interact with the built environment -- light as a collaborator. She is committed to the idea that lighting design is not just about illumination, it is a pathway for narrative and emotional resonance.

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"I enrolled in the �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Architectural Lighting Certificate program because lighting design, like site-specific theatre, is an opportunity to transform how we perceive space. Light has the power to shift our relationships with our surroundings, opening up new dimensions of possibility and connection. Receiving financial support is important to my ability to further my career, and I am grateful that financial awards are available for this program."

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Samantha Cesarini views the experience of light-filled spaces as transformative, inspired by the design of compelling environments, places of worship, and the work of James Turrell. The poetic shaping of the built environment has long been a source of personal and professional fascination, which led to degrees in the history and theory of architecture from Columbia and MIT. Since then, she has worked as a project manager in architectural fields, including as a preservation plans examiner for the City of New York, a sustainability consultant, and a project delivery specialist for a large firm.

While a student, she discovered that she has a neurological condition that is impacted by lighting conditions, thus expanding her awareness of architectural lighting to encompass not only design considerations, but accessibility as well. She wishes to explore architectural lighting from the perspective of universal design, finding ways of lighting spaces that mimic natural conditions, employ daylighting as much as possible, and offering a variety of options to suit different abilities and needs across the lifespan.

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Above all, I consider myself to be an advocate for others, and am excited at the possibility of studying architectural lighting in the hope of creating transformative, inspiring, and accessible spaces. I have struggled to find an opportunity to undertake technical training that would help me to advance my career in a reasonable time frame, and I am thrilled to be engaged in the �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Architectural Lighting Certificate program. The program is very much at the intersection of my personal passion and professional interest. The opportunity for a financial award was incredibly welcome and allowed me to participate in the program, which would not have been possible otherwise.

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After earning her degree in Apparel Design and Merchandising, Remy spent over 15 years immersed in the fashion, textiles, and clothing industry. However, life took an unexpected turn when a divorce transformed her into a single parent, prompting her to seek a more flexible career. This led her to embark on her "second act" in a lighting showroom. When encouraged by a colleague to expand and explore architectural lighting design Remy was initially confronted by an outdated belief she held that “women could make things beautiful while men could make things functional.” Despite this hesitation, she took a bold step forward, applied for, and accepted an offer to relocate from Colorado to join the Lighting Design Team at Newcomb & Boyd, an engineering firm in Atlanta, GA. Today, Remy embraces the intersection of technology, engineering and creativity where lighting design exists. While her on-the-job experiences have been instrumental, she recognized the importance of further academic study to fuel her curiosity and foster her growth in the field. She is also committed to uplifting other women who possess similar skills and interests, helping them find their place in the lighting industry. She is the Co-Leader of the Atlanta chapter for WILD (Women in Lighting + Design) and continues to find ways to build upon her education and understanding of this industry in order to encourage other women like her.
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“This award facilitated the next steps in my growth as a multifaceted designer and proactive advocate for women who aspire to contribute more to architectural lighting design than just pretty things.”

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As an architect working at a small architecture firm in Puerto Rico, Edwin has been involved in many types of projects, and in recent years the topic of lighting and its role in the relationship between��the built environment and humans has intrigued him. He desired to delve deeper into the world of lighting to better understand how lighting impacts people’s spaces and daily activities – but he found that advanced lighting education was not available in Puerto Rico and that lighting was often overlooked during design. The �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Architectural Lighting Certificate program offered greater depth than other programs he evaluated, and the fact that it is primarily online was beneficial since he needed to continue working while pursuing further education. Edwin is eager to use this educational experience to contribute to his company, his coworkers, and the architecture community in general on Puerto Rico.

"This financial award will help me acquire the knowledge I need to continue growing as a professional and also bring the experiences I learned to Puerto Rico. All the other programs that have interested me are either too far away or too expensive for me since the cost of living here in Puerto Rico continues to rise daily, making these opportunities disappear. I am sure that the �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Architectural Lighting Certificate program will help me contribute to the island and promote architecture and design where light positively influences the user experience."

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A fourth-grade science project first stimulated an interest in lighting, when they used alligator clips, a 9-V battery, and a few small incandescent lamps to create a lighting system for a foam core model of their childhood home. That experience first demonstrated how lighting can set a mood and can be used to highlight the important aspects of a space or a subject. The initial spark from that project led to Briana’s decision to pursue electrical engineering at the University of South Carolina, graduating in 2017. Their lighting interest continued while working in an engineering job and in 2023, while attending LightFair for the first time, Briana learned of the Light Justice initiative. They recognized the opportunity to integrate aspects of their identity as a Black, neurodivergent, nonbinary person with their love of lighting, learning about the importance of lighting for the well-being of autistic people, and how poor lighting design reinforces systemic inequalities in lower-income neighborhoods. Briana applied to the �鶹��Ѱ�����graduate education program as the next step in realizing this new vision for a c reer in lighting.

“My hope in enrolling in �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s Architectural Lighting Certificate program is to have a foundation of knowledge to combine with my existing skills, connect with other professionals and scholars in lighting design, and apply this new expertise to the social injustices that exist in my community. I appreciate �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s recognition of the historical marginalization that
people from different backgrounds face in the sciences and this has informed my decision to enroll in this program.”

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With little family support or direction, Laila completed an undergraduate degree in architectural engineering in 2020 at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in her home country of Egypt. But the repetitive nature of entry-level work as an interior designer in Cairo caused her to question her direction. After completing an interior design project for a local lighting contractor, that contractor asked her to join their team as a lighting designer. Seizing the opportunity to re-direct her career trajectory, Laila stepped into the unknown, initiating a steep self-taught learning curve as she managed multiple lighting projects in Egypt and Dubai, UAE. Then came several transitions in December of 2022 – and the newly married designer relocated to the United States, where her husband was employed. The weeks of cultural adjustment and job searching initially proved discouraging, as Laila realized the large differences in technology and terminology between her background and the US lighting industry. But she persevered, jumped into the �鶹��Ѱ�����education program, and has since joined the lighting design team at Newcomb & Boyd, an engineering firm in Atlanta, GA.
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“Although I worked in lighting design internationally, my transition to the US made me realize that I was starting from the beginning, and I needed to be more marketable and learn about the trends in the US market. When I came across the �鶹��Ѱ�����program, I knew this opportunity could further my knowledge in the lighting design industry and support my career goals. Being in this program helped me attain my first job in the United States, and I currently work as a lighting designer in Atlanta.”

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A first-generation Irish American and one of the first in her immediate family to graduate from a four-year university, Sarah Noone-Boyd’s path has always been one of discovery and resilience. Her creative journey began in fashion and documentary storytelling, where her BA degree in Film Production and Electronic Media taught her to use light as a visual language, one that shapes emotion, guides perception, and brings stories to life.

Today, Sarah works as a project manager for an electrical contractor. The technical challenges of her work inspired her to deepen her understanding of how light interacts with the human body and mind; how biological responses, daylight, and technology together shape experience. That pursuit led her to the professional graduate Certificate in Architectural Lighting at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she is expanding her expertise to develop a lighting division focused on bio-responsive design and daylight integration.

"I am deeply committed to this program both personally and professionally. It represents the next step in my journey, transforming passion into expertise and experience into innovation. Receiving a financial award made this opportunity possible for me, and allows me to fully immerse myself in the coursework, without the burden of financial strain."

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Born and raised in northern California, his biggest influence growing up was his father, a General Contractor who owns his own business in Salinas. Naturally, Fernando grew up wanting to be just like his dad and work in construction. But after working at Saro Construction for a few summers, Fernando realized that construction work was challenging and perhaps wasn’t the best career path for him. Instead, he decided to pursue a path that would allow him to work on buildings but in a less physically demanding role, and he enrolled in architecture classes at Hartnell Community College. At age 20, his growing expertise in drafting and CAD led to an opportunity to work as a part-time drafter for Aurum Consulting Engineers in Monterey. That initial part-time job eventually led to full-time work, and after several years with Aurum, he was promoted to the position of electrical designer. When Aurum saw increasing opportunities to support their clients with lighting work, Fernando stepped up and enrolled in the courses that comprise the �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Architectural Lighting Certificate program. The educational experience provided a means for Fernando’s own professional development in parallel with Aurum’s business growth.

"I am excited to continue my professional growth through the �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder lighting education programs. The financial award that was sponsored by a local lighting company made this opportunity possible for me, and I am grateful to both Aurum and Associated Lighting Representatives for their support of my participation."

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