Career by design: 2012 Grad Builds Success at HGTV HOME Furniture.

• Position: Alumni NEWS

Victoria Valentinas may be helping to design the future for HGTV HOME Furniture by Bassett, but she looks to her past--specifically her time at HPU--for guidance and inspiration.

Valentinas, who graduated in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in interior design and a minor in studio art, often finds herself using the business skills and savvy she learned in HPU courses. And it's knowledge that has served her well since her senior year, when she began interning for HGTV HOME.

During that year, Valentinas' professors selected her to be a WithIT Scholar (Women in the Home Industry Today), which led to an internship with HGTV HOME and opened up networking opportunities that led her to the position she now holds.

"My internships gave me credibility as a designer by gaining knowledge and experience in commercial, residential and furniture design as well as sales," says Valentinas. "Without these incredible internships, I would not have the network that I do today."

Her internship led to a fulltime career at the company upon graduation, where she began as visual merchandising coordinator at the Bassett corporate office, located in Bassett, Va. There, she not only oversaw social media accounts for HGTV HOME Furniture, but also planned galleries for both Bassett and HGTV HOME Furniture across the country--everything from floor planning in AutoCAD, a design software, to painting and selecting accessories, then traveling to stores to help with setup.

"I am often using the business skills from merchandising 'good, better, best,' as Dr. Richard Bennington taught me in furniture merchandising classes. Space planning is something that many designers dread, but it's a skill I use every day in my commercial store floor plans," says Valentinas. "It's funny to think...