Lathem Gordon ’04: A designer. A humanitarian. A Blue Hose.

Lathem Gordon says things like “Sweet as pie” and “Oh, gracious!” She’s a people person, as bright and splashy as the colors she loves to use in her work at GordonDunning Interior Design. A 2004 PC graduate, her degree in Visual Arts with a minor in psychology first led her to a job in Admissions and then to an MFA at SCAD. “Working in Admissions was really fun. That was the people side of me,” she says. “What was missing was the creative side.” Today, she has merged her passion for people and color and community and has painted a vibrant world for herself and her family in Decatur, Georgia.

For Lathem though, it isn’t just the showing up for work that’s important. It’s the showing up for life. She credits PC for cultivating this desire.

“I think one of the greatest things about PC is that it teaches you that you can’t be a contributing member of your community or build relationships within that community if you don’t show up. Even if you don’t take on a leadership role in a particular club or organization, you’re given the opportunity to build strong leadership skills and to get to know the awesome people around you.”

“A common thread at PC is that everyone is so nice,” she continues. “PC emphasizes service, and kind people are drawn to that. One thing everyone at the school talks about is their love for the community, whether that might mean clubs or classrooms. One day, someone is tutoring me in biology. The next day I’m tutoring him in English. Learning from your peers is so different from getting the edge on them.”

It’s this passion for helping others while working together that brings Lathem back again and again to the idea of showing up. Today, her firm helps people in need through the program Dwell with Dignity, where selected families have rooms re-envisioned for them free of cost. “The largest part and most important part of these projects is finding color and brightness and bringing that to their world. We sit down and ask 
the family about their hopes and dreams and how they want their space to feel. Interior design can be viewed as frivolous, but one’s space truly affects one’s psychology; and helping improve that portion of someone’s life is a special gift for us.”

Take the next step. Be a Blue Hose.

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