Jessica Dineen Found Her Design Voice at NJIT — and She’s Taking It to NYC

Jessica Dineen did not arrive at NJIT expecting to become an interior designer. But over time, she found a field that matched the way she wanted to think, create and solve problems.

Now, as the Bronx native and first-generation college graduate prepares to begin her next chapter as a junior designer at Fogarty Finger in Tribeca, Dineen is leaving NJIT with more than a degree. She is leaving with a stronger sense of purpose, a sharper professional vision and the confidence to trust herself when the path ahead calls for both ambition and risk.

A calculated change that felt right

Dineen arrived on campus as an engineering student, drawn to problem-solving and the kind of work that asked her to think critically and practically. But as she settled into college, she began to reflect more deeply on what kind of challenges truly matched the way she saw the world.

That reflection led her to interior design — a move she describes as a calculated risk, but one that quickly felt natural. The change allowed her to explore a more creative side of herself while still holding on to the technical and analytical thinking she valued. At NJIT’s Hillier College of Architecture and Design, she found a space that welcomed that transition and gave her the confidence to grow into it.

“I didn’t realize how the major and the field in general was very much a balance of the creativity … and it also balanced that logical reasoning, puzzle solving, problem-solving, technical aspect that I really wanted,” said Dineen. “It was like the perfect blend of the two.”

From there, she never looked back. What began as a thoughtful shift in direction became the foundation for everything that followed — a design education shaped by curiosity, trust in her instincts and a willingness to embrace new challenges.

“Platform 72 Studio” - Design Showcase 2026 winning entry.

Designing for people, and joy

That mindset is also what shaped “Platform 72 Studio,” her Design Showcase project, where Dineen embraced the challenge of designing an office by pushing herself to make the space more engaging, layered, centering the human experience. More broadly, her work reflects a belief that interiors should not simply function well; they should also leave room for delight.

“I think there’s always something in my projects that I want to just be fun,” she said. “It could be the most serious lobby, but there’s this one light fixture that’s at a weird slant, and you double-look at it. … Any little detail that is just a little playful.”

That philosophy is not accidental. Dineen thinks deeply about how people move through space and what they feel when they do. Her earlier interest in sustainability evolved at NJIT into a broader interest in well-being, especially through the study of biophilic design, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, (LEED) principles and WELL standards.

“The more I grow and the more I kind of learn, the more important it becomes to design for people and let them be at the forefront,” she said. “They’re the ones who are indoors all the time.” 

“From an educator’s perspective, I am most encouraged by the fact that the work you see in her portfolio represents iterative effort and insight that moved beyond the comments made at desk critiques,” said David Brothers, senior university lecturer of the School of Art and Design. “These traits are precisely the qualities one would hope to see in a maturing student expected to make a difference in our interior design discipline.”

Receiving the Northeast Precast Design Scholarship marked another meaningful milestone during her time at NJIT. Awarded to a third- or fourth-year design student who demonstrates excellence in 3D modeling and shop drawings, the scholarship recognized an area of the design process Dineen has become especially passionate about: using building information modeling tools such as Revit to translate ideas into technical drawings and digital models. For her, the recognition affirmed the time and discipline she has devoted to mastering one of the most demanding — and rewarding — aspects of interior design, where creativity and technical execution come together.

It is part of why she is already thinking ahead to professional certifications, including the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) licensure, as well as LEED and WELL credentials. For Dineen, graduation is not an endpoint. It is a starting line.

“I don’t want to just graduate, get the job, and then just kind of end there,” she said. “I want to keep pushing myself.”

Confidence built beyond the studio

Some of Dineen’s biggest growth at NJIT happened outside the classroom.

She has served as a resident assistant since her sophomore year, a role that demanded maturity and empathy. Supporting students through everyday problems and more serious personal challenges helped draw her out of her shell and strengthened the kind of confidence that now defines both her leadership style and her design voice.

“That brought me out of my shell immediately,” Dineen said of being an RA. “It gave me a lot of self-confidence, I think, to navigate conflicts, navigate tough situations, especially spur-of-the-moment decisions.”

Her involvement in Greek life also helped sharpen that confidence. As secretary and head of the professional development committee in Alpha Rho Chi Domitian, she learned how to speak with authority and trust her own judgment.

“When you’re informed and when you’re confident in your decision making, you can fight it [for your proposal],” she said. “Every little thing has a reason, like down to the color of a doorknob.”

That sense of intention now shows up in everything she does. Dineen is the kind of designer who wants each move to mean something, each detail to support a larger story.

Dean Gabrielle Esperdy with Jessica Dineen, winner in the Interior Design category for “Platform 72 Studio,” at this year’s Design Showcase.

Making her family proud

As graduation approaches, Dineen is carrying more than personal excitement. She is carrying the hopes of a family whose sacrifices made this moment possible.

She is a first-generation college graduate, following her sister as the second in her family to earn a four-year degree. For Dineen, commencement will be emotional not simply because of what she has achieved, but because of what the moment will mean for her parents.

“I’m really excited to have that opportunity, and to see my parents … literally looking at all their work, like their life’s work, and the sacrifices they made come to life,” she said. “I’m going to be emotional that day.”

She still remembers telling her mother she wanted to leave engineering behind and pursue design instead. Rather than hesitation, she found support.

“She was like, ‘If you really like it, you’re good at it, you see it, do it,’” Dineen said. “I always want to make her and my whole family proud.”

That pride now travels with her into New York City, where the chance to work independently had long lived in her imagination. Joining Fogarty Finger feels, in her words, both like a reward and the beginning of something entirely new.

“It feels simultaneously like a bow on a present … but at the same time, it feels like you’re flipping a blank page,” she said. “It’s the end and then it’s the start at the exact same time.”

For Dineen, that blank page does not read as uncertainty. It reads as a possibility.