Alumni Success Story
Shannon McGrew
April 2011 Bachelor in Interior Design Graduate
The New England Institute of Art
Hometown: Hopkinton, Mass.

(Brookline, MA- September  26, 2011)- It all started about three weeks ago when The New England Institute of Art alumna, Shannon McGrew, received an email from the Career Services Department of The New England Institute of Art. The email was from a production company looking for upper-level students and alumni to volunteer as interior designers to help a family who had lost their home to a tornado. McGrew jumped at the chance and brought a fellow graduate with her.  McGrew spent three days staging the victims’ home for an episode of A&E’s “Disaster Guy.”  McGrew loved the experience and the opportunity to help those in need.

McGrew then continued working for La-Z- Boy as an In-Home Designer, where she had been working since she graduated in April 2011. She loved her job and was satisfied with utilizing her skills and talent in that industry.

A week after completing the home for the tornado victims, a production manager  “Disaster Guy” asked her if she would be interested in an opening as a designer on DIY Network’s show, “Man Caves.”  “I said yes and was told that someone would contact me soon,” McGrew said. McGrew was calm and unsuspecting about how fast her life was about to change.  

The line producer called her back and interviewed her later that day, and that's when she knew she had 24-48 hours to make a decision if they did offer her the job- and indeed, they did.  McGrew was offered a position as a Junior Interior Designer/Interior Coordinator for “Man Caves.” McGrew was given the weekend to decide whether or not she would move to the Big Apple.

“At first, my friends and family were freaking out, but I was not,” she said. McGrew was thinking of the five La-Z-Boy clients for which she still had to complete projects and designs for, and now she just had several days to do so if she was moving . “When I was decidedly moving to New York, and my La-Z-Boy employers were happy for me, then I started freaking out,” she said.

McGrew packed, shoved everything she owned in her car, and moved to New York in less than four days. “I couldn’t believe how fast everything fell into place,” she said. She moved on September 11, and started work on Sept. 19. “There weren't a lot of people on the road and it was quiet driving into the city. 9/11 hit me hard so it was a surreal experience driving into New York.”

McGrew does design work and trade offs for “Man Caves.” She was able to get a costly entertainment center at no cost for the show. She picks out accessories, furniture, and fills out paperwork. There are three designers for the show: one main designer, and two junior interior designers/interior coordinators.

“For me, getting this job wasn’t about being famous, it was about the opportunity to design,” McGrew said. “I love that I can say, ‘I picked that out,’ or ‘that special design is mine.’”

McGrew is excited about working on potential celebrity episodes of “Man Caves.” She is also excited to be able to put this experience on her resume.

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