It’s ironic that it was actually the joy of working in the innovative space on Google’s Cambridge, Mass., campus that convinced Kali Hegarty M’27 she needed to make a career change.
The Kendall Square offices feature imaginatively conceived spaces inspired by the color-coded system of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and sprinkled with local cultural references. There’s also ping-pong tables, mini golf, teacup-shaped pods, a first-class-airplane-themed workspace, an oversized lighthouse on a beach setting, and dynamic nooks that inspire employees to think and create.
“I was fascinated by the design of the interior,” said Hegarty, who worked in the office until 2024. “Every floor has something different, and I was so enamored with the design that I realized I was caring about that more than my day-to-day job. I had a brain blast a couple months after I turned 30 and thought, ‘I need to go to design school.’”
Fast forward to the fall of 2026 and Hegarty has begun her third and final year in the Career Changer Track within Endicott’s M.A. in Interior Architecture program. The decision to go back to school and completely shift gears in the midst of a budding career in tech that involved stops at Fitbit and then Google (which bought Fitbit) was not one Hegarty took lightly. But she made the jump after admitting to herself that she had long suppressed a creative urge that kept whispering to her to go for it.
“It was both terrifying and a relief,” Hegarty said of her decision to pursue grad school, “because I spent so long wanting to find something that ignited a passion in me.”
Artistic at heart (she grew up writing songs and crafting and still keeps squares of clay on her desk for inspiration), once Hegarty came to that verdict to leave job security at a great company, she considered only a few CIDA (Council for Interior Design Accreditation) programs in the Boston area.
What stood out when she explored Endicott’s offerings in interior architecture were flexibility, small class sizes, and the opportunity to gain practical career experience through the Experiential Edge program. Even more attractive, the Career Changer track allowed Hegarty entry without any design prerequisites or background in the field whatsoever.
“That was the biggest difference,” Hegarty said. “In some programs, I’d have to take classes before I could get started, and I kept seeing my ability to make this leap getting pushed back. Knowing the foundational knowledge and prerequisites would be built into the program itself [at Endicott] was what sealed the deal.”
Beyond the boutique experience, Endicott’s graduate programs offer in-person, online, and hybrid learning models, giving students at a variety of life and career stages the option to choose what works best for them. The programs are ideal for full-time professionals or recent graduates and are designed to enhance skills and move a career forward.
In Hegarty’s case, the in-person model was most appealing. Once she left Google and committed to continuing her education, she discovered she’d been missing a sense of academic collegiality while studying communications at the much larger UMass Amherst.
“I didn’t realize the learning process in undergraduate was so lonely,” explained Hegarty, who earned her B.A in 2015. “Being able to bounce ideas off my classmates and professors in this collaborative environment makes it much more engaging.”
The master’s program also afforded Hegarty a chance to go international. In March 2025, she was chosen to travel to Cork, Ireland, to present to academics at Endicott’s sister school, Munster Technological University. The presentation focused on the creative process work of selected Endicott students (including her own) in interior architecture, studio art, graphic design, and performing arts.
“It was an incredible honor,” Hegarty said, “and one of those, ‘Wow, I really did make the right decision’ moments.”
Hegarty also gained practical experience through a summer 2026 internship with SGA Architecture, an opportunity that emerged after a portfolio review night at Endicott. At SGA, a Boston-based firm with clients in biotech, higher education, and beyond, Hegarty’s aptitude for interior architecture grew exponentially, building on skills acquired in her master’s courses.
She credits the intimate class environment at Endicott, where professors know students by name and collaboration is constant, with simulating the team atmosphere required to solve real-world design problems.
“This program is setting you up to have the actual skills you need in a firm,” Hegarty said. “The professors help you every step of the way.”
Following her practical immersion, Hegarty is confident she made the right decision to become a designer who conceives innovative spaces like the ones that captivated her at Google. She sees herself designing similar user-centered workspaces—and that surprises her. But maybe it shouldn’t, because it was exactly that desire to build well-designed environments to make people not only think, but shape how they feel that led her to graduate school.
“I love the idea of being an architect of that,” she said.
Now more than ever, Hegarty understands from personal experience how the places people occupy can profoundly impact their wellbeing—and their future.