Carly Conduff

This is a photo of me (on the right) and two of my classmates in Germany for ISPO trade show.

Degree: MS in Product Design

Graduation Date: Spring 2021

Prior Degree
BS in Design and Innovation Management, Oregon State University

Spring 2021 Scholarship
Michael and Stacy Koehn Award

I Am Originally From Beaverton, OR

WHY I CAME TO THE UO AND HOW I CHOSE MY MAJOR
After completing my undergraduate degree, I felt like my journey with my education wasn’t over and there was more for me to learn. The University of Oregon had a well-established product design department and had strong connections to the history of sports and athletics. This is what made the Sports Product Design program the perfect fit. It had the connections, talent, and experience in the industry and multidisciplinary design options.

I have always grown up crafting and took every art class my academic pathway had to offer, yet I was torn about whether to pursue a STEM pathway. After completing my undergrad in Apparel Design, I felt I was missing the science and research emphasis. My major has allowed me to take what I love about design, and apply it to data-driven science making for performance peaking both of my passions.

UNIQUE QUALITIES I BRING TO MY STUDIES
My undergraduate degree was a unique in that It was a combined Apparel Design and Business program. What I have found is that this duo has allowed me to pursue projects that are very relevant to current markets. This has created amazing opportunities for me to have a lot of peers and mentors involved in my projects.

MY INFLUENTIAL PROFESSORS
In my second term during my studies at UO, I had a human physiology class. Our instructor was an industry professional who came to class after work each week to teach us something he was incredibly passionate about. I realized that while university professors are valuable, connecting with someone who is practicing in your dream field is an incredible motivator. It was because of that instructor that I saw my true passion and skill set in connecting human science to the way we dress the body.

MY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
In my time at UO I was able to participate in design mentorship programs for high school-age aspiring designers. It was an amazing opportunity to see where a creative dream like mine started and reflect on all the steps and learning processes it took to get to where I am now.

MY GREATEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT UO
You can not undervalue the experience of being around your peers and valuing what they have to say. Part of this is because most of my time at UO was under the circumstances of the COVID pandemic, and we had to continue to build relationships in a new light. The cohort system in the Sprots Product Design program sets us up for success by creating a collaborative environment. I would not have felt like my education had the value it di without the influence of my peers.

AFTER GRADUATION
The one thing I do know is that I never want to stop creating. I know my career path may take me to management roles, products I had never thought of myself working on, and unknowns, but I love to think of new ideas.  A dream role for me right now would be in apparel innovation. I am most passionate about merging the world of technology and apparel but doing so accessibility. I want to make the most difference to the most people in my career, not just the elite.

YOUR GIFT
This scholarship is the opportunity for me to continue working on a dream. Working through my thesis I was really looking for a project that would wow professionals enough to get me a job at a big-name company. However, through the course of my thesis, I began to believe in what I was doing beyond just leveraging it for a job. This competition gave me the platform to show other people, have them believe in it too, and start conversations. I now have meetings with individuals to talk about the potential for for my design idea and have the means to move forward.

Thank you for believing that someone at this stage of their life could have the next big thing and the drive to carry it out. Thoughts of being an entrepreneur as a college student felt like pipe dreams, not realistic. However, this award has provided the legs for me to pursue a vision that I have built in my time at UO and I have you to thank for that!