Student Profile: Aruvi Rajasingham
For the last two years, it has been a great privilege to have Environmental Design student Aruvi Rajasingham working in the Learning Zone as a Student Monitor. Many of you most likely have encountered Aruvi across campus either as a long-serving Student Peer Mentor for Campus Life, or busy with environmental design installations for GradEx.
Aruvi has been interested in the design process, ever since studying technological and industrial design in High School where she learned about making wallets out of duct-tape, and paper airplane making.
LZ: What influenced your decision to major in Environmental Design?
AR: This program offered me the opportunity to explore with many different types of materials and 3D design. I really enjoy the design process of experimenting, prototyping and making 3D objects, that was my interest in the design field, specifically environmental design. It was something new to me and I wanted to give it a try.
What did you enjoy most about your program?
I enjoyed the flexibility in the approaches towards your work. It is not a definitive answer in what you have to produce. You can be explorative in the project that you are given and creative with materials and design thinking.
I would say the people too, especially when I started to engage more in group projects. It was fun to work with different people.
Why did you choose OCAD University?
I choose OCAD because after researching other programs at universities I was excited that I could make things (studio environment). OCAD offered a hands-on experience and studio access. I could make things in an environment that allowed me to be experimental.
Through researching, I was looking for what other programs interested me, I knew that it had to be hands on. I found OCAD and it had this program. If offered me hands-on and studio. It excited me a lot that I could make things. I only applied to Toronto schools, so that I could commute from home. For financial reasons.
Where are you most productive? Tell us a bit about your creative space?
I like working near a window with natural daylight.
I’ve noticed that you have been involved in many collaborative projects at OCAD U. Do you think that collaboration goes hand in hand with innovation?
Yes, it does. It makes a fun way of learning. Everyone has a diverse set of skills. They have knowledge about something that you do not know about. Working in a team already puts you in a situation with many different people, and a lot of ideas that can come from that.
Working with the Steam collective on the Steam Canoe Installation, I did not know a lot about building but by being part of the process you learn things – seeing things and being there.
The Steam Canoe, Beaches Winter Stations Installation (Winter 2016)
Any final thoughts that you would like to share with us?
It’s always nice to get involved around the community in something you are interested in. It’s a fun way to meet new friends and learn, even if it’s volunteering.