Adam Clausen

This is a phot of me knitting a material made from brown seaweed. I used it to create a bio-based running shoe for my capstone project. This project was very difficult, but my passion for biomaterials and innovation helped make something many people haven’t seen before.

Degree: MS in Sports Product Design

Graduation Date: Spring 2021

Prior Degree
BS in Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama

2021-2022 Scholarship
Michael and Stacy Koehn Award

I Am Originally From Baton Rouge, LA

WHY I CAME TO THE UO AND HOW I CHOSE MY MAJOR
I chose the University of Oregon because of their prestigious alumni specifically within the industry I am looking to enter, and with it being the only Sports Product Design program in the country it seemed like a great next step for me. What I like most about being in the College of Design is that so many alumni are willing to return to their roots and have conversations with aspiring designers who are still in school. I think it is so amazing that all these incredibly talented designers are always so willing to talk to our class, and it always goes a long way in terms of inspiration.

While I was at Foot Locker headquarters working as a visual designer, it became clear that I wanted to be behind the design of actual product and not behind the marketing and web design after the product is made. But being a biology major in undergrad, I knew I was going to need more experience and schooling to improve on my skillset as a designer. So after a little research, I found this program and was intrigued. Then after visiting I fell in love with the program because for the first time in my life I was finally meeting students who shared a lot of the same interests academically.

UNIQUE QUALITIES I BRING TO MY STUDIES
I was a biology major in undergrad, which comes with its own unique work experiences like shadowing a leading foot and ankle specialist, taking the MCAT, and attending a 2-week emergency medicine course. All of my experiences within this space allow me to think differently than other designers. Outside of medicine, I have unique experiences working at brands like Wolf & Shepherd, Foot Locker, Pack Health, and Tasc Performance. I also have attended a footwear construction course at Moda Pelle Academy in Milan, Italy and taken part in the 2020 ISPO Masterclass. All of these experiences make me who I am today as a thinker, and determine how I take in the things around me.

MY INFLUENTIAL PROFESSORS
Brett Kirby, our human physiology teacher, who also works on the Human Performance team at Nike is an incredibly inspiring individual. Having worked on Breaking 2 (the Nike project to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon), it is only natural that he pushes you to answer the impossible. His influence has made me more confident in leaning on my biology roots to problem solve, andto be more open minded. Through his teachings and demeanor, no challenge seemed to large. Susan Sokolowski, Professor and Director of the Sports Product Design program, has also been incredibly influential to me because of one thing: trust. She trusted me on so many projects and most of those turned out to be my best projects yet. The power of trust goes a long way and she opened my eyes to that in the way she handled my projects. As I move forward in life I want to be like her in my ability to trust in others.

MY EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
The Portland campus is small and there aren’t many opportunities for extracurricular activities. To be honest, I would love to help improve that. I love sports and playing them is my biggest hobby, but with such a small program in Portland it is hard to create those kind of activities. But these are still important to me because they allow the mind to escape and  you get to pretend be the user for the industry you work for.

MY GREATEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE AT UO
The greatest learning experience for me during my time here is that the sooner you can actually try something, the more you will learn and the better things will be. Many times as a designer you want to over think and iron out every step mentally, but in reality, just going for it and “failing fast” is the best thing you can do to get the best results. The longer you sit, the more time you lose. Whereas, if you were to just hop in, you’ll at least always be learning and thus never wasting time.

AFTER GRADUATION
My greatest hopes is to create my own footwear company that combines the world of sustainability and performance for athletes. However, I first am looking for industry experience so I can learn more about how larger companies are run before embarking on my own brand. But ultimately the knowledge gained from this grant, will help build that company.

YOUR GIFT
My overall goal as a designer is to bridge the worlds of science and sports to create great products. So with this scholarship, I am able to do just that by exploring bio-materials for sustainable athletic performance. This in turn will help inform my end goal of starting a footwear brand based on the materials I plan to explore, rendering this scholarship one of the most important academic awards I have ever won.

Thank you for the belief in me and my vision. The power of belief does wonders for some, and by believing in me, it makes me that much more focused on finding success with the assets I have been given. I have loved my time at Oregon, and now I will remember it even better because of this donor. I would love to give the Koehns the first two pairs of shoes I create if they want to give me their shoe size to say THANK YOU!