Darlene Myrie
“The good thing about the Lighting program is that you can shape it to accommodate your needs,” says Darlene Myrie, MFA Lighting Design graduate and recipient of the 2009 Jonas Bellovin Scholar Achievement Award. “Lighting students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some students have a very specific idea of what they want to specialize in, and they can refine their courses so that they get what they need. Others are not sure of their direction yet, so they need something broader. And the program offers both.”
Myrie belongs to the first category of students. She was already a working landscape designer when she decided to pursue a second master’s in lighting design to realize a longstanding vision: urban environments that are user-friendly and enjoyable by night. “I grew up in the suburbs and had to commute by public transportation for two hours every day,” she says, “so I had a lot of time to think about how people get to and from places. In North America, people work late, and it gets dark early. So the only time they get to know their community is at night.” Myrie also feels that lighting in public spaces is a key element in creating a sustainable city. “If we want people to walk more between destinations and take more public transportation, we have to redefine their journey,” she says. “We need to explore how the quality of light can increase the joy one gets from spaces.”