My final undergraduate project, Loser, was a challenge and a testament to how far I’d come. This film required transforming a vacant, low-income apartment into a set that felt alive and authentic. The director was demanding, often making last-minute changes that had us scrambling to adjust entire setups on the fly. His indecision could be frustrating, especially with our tight schedule and limited resources. Still, it forced me to dig deeper into my role and lead my team with flexibility and determination.

Despite the pressure, I was surrounded by a talented art department full of driven young designers who looked up to me for guidance. I felt like I finally had a team that showed me trust over resentment. We transformed an absolutely empty apartment into a fully realized set, designing from scratch with limited resources. Every decision felt weighty, knowing that this film would be a defining project in my portfolio. Every choice, from the worn textures on the walls to the carefully placed personal effects, was deliberate, reflecting our shared dedication to making the story come alive.

In the diner location, we had to get creative with a very large graphic to cover a wall of signage that had to be concealed. We shot inside of a car, and walking down the side of a country road. The show had more sets than I’d dealt with yet and balancing the needs of the show with our $3,000 budget was an exercise in creativity.

As we neared the end, I felt a sense of accomplishment I hadn’t experienced before. Loser was not just my thesis—it was the final chapter of my undergraduate journey, a project that marked my growth as a designer and my resilience as a person. I’d finally crafted a life without J. In the following months, I finished out my year with smaller projects, trying to wrap my head around finishing my degree at 33. I graduated in May 2019, and walking across the stage I carried with me the lessons learned and the pride in having reached this point after the most challenging years of my life so far.