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Kate Stähli, a fourth-year interior architecture student, traveled abroad as a part of the School of Interior Architecture’s Japan Design and Culture studio.

The summer mini term program allowed Stähli to be flexible with her final year in the program and explore a new country.

“There is such a big world out there and what is the point of having such a big world and not being able to see it,” she said. “It was so surreal stepping into Tokyo and seeing some of the infamous temples and market streets, it literally felt like a dream. I could not believe I was there!”

Throughout the summer mini term, students traveled to Toyko, Koyasan, Osaka, Fukui, and Kyoto. Stähli was most impact by Koyasan and staying in the Buddhist monastery, and the tea ceremony in the Katsura Imperial Villa.

“As a future designer, I think this program helped me to gain confidence in presenting to people of other cultures,” she said. “It also opened my eyes to their way of thinking from part to whole, micro to macro of design and the balance of contemporary and traditional design and the effort of merging those two.”

The experience expanded Stähli’s view of the field.

“You never know who will know who. As well, that the field of design is not only just architecture or interior architecture, but it can be artists, sculptors, pottery makers, and more. I learned simply how wide the word “design” spans.”