Secretary of the Interior: Amy Pasek

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AMY PASEK IS PORING OVER CABINET PICKS. Secretary of agriculture? Treasury? Nope -- Pasek, a kitchen designer, is weighing heavy-grain oak against more expensive cherry and exotic sycamore.

"I like space planning and layout and how things work and flow -- the technical part of interior design as well as the useful, aesthetic side," says Pasek. At Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath in Bethesda, she's surrounded by detailed binders on two dozen current renovation projects.

Pasek didn't envision a focus on kitchens back at Washington state's Whitman College, where she majored in sociology. She worked in human resources and owned a personal-errand company in Rhode Island, then moved to Gaithersburg with her husband. She became a teacher's aide at two elementary schools and a child-care center.

"I loved the children I worked with," she says, "but I always had a passion for design and color and art." That suggested serious career change.

But what to do? Pasek turned to a career counselor. Graphic design and interior design were possibilities, but with the latter Pasek worried that she'd be "jumping on the bandwagon" led by TV shows about redoing houses in two days.

Realizing she was both visual and tactile -- "I like things I can touch" -- Pasek, now 33, looked at Marymount University and the Corcoran but gravitated toward Montgomery College's interior-design program, part of its Department of Applied Technologies in Rockville.

"Proximity was a big reason, as was affordable cost, and I knew Montgomery College had a great reputation," she says. "I already had a bachelor's, so getting a two-year AAS degree was fine."

Her first day of class in 2003, Pasek found the students diverse and the course work rigorous: "I knew I was in the right place for the right thing."

That could take several paths at MC, whose interior-design program offers an associate degree (about half general education) and an associate in applied science (about one-third general education) -- which has a new track affiliated with the National Kitchen & Bath Association. Introductory and advanced certificates cover just interior design, everything from color theory to knowledge of furniture, fixtures and lighting to technical drawing and business practices.

"Logical and levelheaded people do well here," says program coordinator Pamela Gragg (pamela.gragg@montgomerycollege.edu or 240-567-7597).

Pasek fits the description. In April 2005, she dropped a résumé at Jennifer Gilmer, a high-end, award-winning design firm. A project manager who had attended MC alerted Gilmer, who e-mailed Pasek before she'd even reached home: "When can you come in?" Pasek had a job before her May graduation.

Not in design, though. Her first month was mainly comparing Gilmer's custom cabinet designs with the specifics of the orders. Then came pricing cabinetry, doing appliance specs, attending client meetings, and helping clients choose tile and stone.

"I pretty much learned project-management skills on the job," says Pasek. She moved up to being a project manager for Gilmer's renovations, and last July she started taking on her own clients.

"I get to make my own design decisions with them," she says. "I love helping people visualize and achieve their goals. Six or eight months down the road, I get to walk into what I'd envisioned on paper. The relatively quick turnaround gives a great sense of accomplishment.

"And a happy client makes for a happy Amy."

Another thing that makes her happy is control over her day. Pasek works 40 to 50 hours per week, often without a lunch break: "I believe in personal time to recharge, so I'm as efficient as possible when I'm here."

Because every project is different, there's something new to do and learn each day. At some point, Pasek says, she could see herself doing commercial design -- of retail stores, restaurants or bars. She'll also consider getting NKBA certification for additional credibility, "but I need more time in the field to get experience."

Though starting pay in interior design is low, income varies widely. Gragg says MC grads typically begin at $35,000 to $40,000. A project manager's median salary is $70,000, she says, and designers at kitchen/bath showrooms that pay on commission can make $90,000 to $200,000 per year.

Pasek went low-cost when planning her own kitchen remodel a year and a half ago. Her house came with poorly painted white cabinets; now it has dark cabinets up to the nine-foot ceilings plus granite countertops, an oak floor, a tumbled marble backsplash, under-cabinet lighting, and a new gas line for the range. She did the design, and her husband and in-laws spent weekends on the labor.

"It's small but very efficient," Pasek says proudly. "We were done in less than a month."

Written by Express contributor Ellen Ryan
Photos by Marge Ely/Express