Francesca Knoetgen knew she wanted to study design, but leaving her home in Westchester, New York, for Ohio State was a leap into the unknown.

“It was really hard freshman year,” Knoetgen said. “I won’t sugarcoat it. It takes a lot to uproot yourself.”

Knoetgen came to Ohio State via the National Buckeye Scholarship and because it offered one of the top design schools in the country. She also liked the wealth of majors available at the university and having the option to change hers on a dime if she wanted to.

However, coming to a large university where she knew only one person pushed her outside her comfort zone. She forced herself to attend events, join clubs and meet new people, even when it felt uncomfortable. Over time, those small steps made a difference.

“The biggest thing that helped me acclimate was finding a smaller community,” she said.

That community came through Ohio State’s Industrial Design program, where her cohort included just 20 students. The tight-knit group gave her the chance to build close friendships and work closely with professors while still enjoying the opportunities of a large university.

“It’s a very rigorous program,” said Knoetgen, who also has minors in art history and fashion and retail studies. “All-nighters constantly, stuff like that. But I did love it, and I think a lot of that is the people, the people really did make the place. Plus, being able to do art history and fashion alongside it, bringing in my other passions and interests, was really nice.”

Her coursework eventually led to one of her most memorable experiences: working with Honda engineers on a yearlong design project. The assignment challenged students to create a more relaxing backseat experience for children ages 5 to 12.

To develop her idea, Knoetgen conducted interviews, distributed surveys and tested her design in real-life settings.

“I was sitting in the back seat between two children while their mother was driving, just watching how they reacted,” she said.

Her final design featured a tactile armrest panel for tracing and fidgeting with a simplified digital interface offering guided breathing, pattern tracing and ambient visuals.“It was to allow children to choose when they wanted to interact with it and teach them how to self-regulate,” she said.

Outside the classroom, some of Knoetgen’s favorite memories came from long nights spent in the design studio alongside classmates.

“Some great memories are just working late in the studio, making late-night runs to Buckeye Donuts and bringing it back,” she said.

Looking back, Knoetgen said leaving home and stepping into an unfamiliar environment helped shape her confidence and independence.

“I think it was good for my growth,” she said.

Now preparing to graduate and looking for jobs in New York City or even abroad, she encourages future students to embrace the uncertainty that comes with starting somewhere new.

“You really need to seek out a smaller group of people,” she said. “Once you find that, everything starts to feel like home.”

Study abroad

“My sophomore (summer) I studied in Florence, Italy, for six weeks and it was amazing. I've always wanted to live abroad and I‘m still considering it and this was a great way to sneak peek it. I studied packaging design and an art history Michelangelo course. I was assigned with random roommates, two of them were from Ohio State and we all became so close.

It was an amazing way to just see new perspectives, new cultures and build different relationships. I made friends from across (the U.S.) and have continued to build those relationships in a beautiful way. It all came from studying abroad, I really enjoyed that time.”