After a dozen homes across a military career, you learn a thing or two about what makes a space work. For one Heritage School of Interior Design Denver student, those lessons came together long before her first class, in a home she designed so her mother could age in place, surrounded by family.
Meet Cynthia
Cynthia Wright spent her career in national security. She retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Colonel after serving in the cybersecurity and cyber defense arena, then spent another decade providing national-level cybersecurity consulting to U.S. Government entities and more than a dozen partner nations.
That work took her all over the world. Along the way, Cynthia soaked up the art, patterns, and cultural influences of the places she lived and visited, building a rich visual library that now shapes the way she designs.
Military life also meant moving often. “After a dozen houses or so, you start to know what works and what doesn’t,” she says. Even beyond the homes her family lived in, Cynthia spent time designing “dream homes” simply for the joy of it. Interior and landscape design had always been a passion running quietly alongside her career.
A New Direction
The turning point came after COVID. Cynthia’s aging mother was worried about becoming isolated in a senior living facility, so Cynthia designed and oversaw construction of a barndominium, an accessory dwelling unit on the family’s property. Every choice was made with her mother’s declining mobility in mind, so she could age in place with comfort, safety, and independence.
“That was such a challenging and rewarding activity that when I decided to leave the national security arena, interior design was the first thing that came to mind.”
When it came time to choose a school, Cynthia knew exactly what she was looking for. With multiple higher education degrees already behind her, she didn’t need another one. She wanted a focused interior design curriculum outside of a traditional degree program. As she researched her options, Heritage School of Interior Design stood out as the obvious choice, based on its reviews, testimonials, and graduate success stories.
For career changers like Cynthia, that kind of focused, practical path makes all the difference. It offers the skills and industry exposure needed to step into a new field confidently, without starting over from scratch.
Bold Color, Grounded in Nature
At HSID Denver, Cynthia brings a well-traveled eye and a clear sense of personal style to her coursework. She gravitates toward strong, vibrant patterns and bold colors, balanced by comfortable furniture in grounded, natural materials like leather, cotton, and canvas. It is the kind of layered, collected look often celebrated in the pages of Architectural Digest.
She is also a trained Master Gardener, and nature plays a big role in her work. Organic shapes, greenery, woods, and natural fibers offer a calming counterpoint to bold art and accessories. The result is a design language that feels both adventurous and inviting.
Looking Ahead
Cynthia is keeping her options open. She would like to work professionally as an interior designer, though she isn’t drawn to the challenges of running her own company. For now, she envisions taking on projects through word of mouth and possibly working with an established design firm to gain experience and exposure.
After decades of workweeks that stretched well beyond 40 hours, she isn’t looking for another 9-to-5. Instead, she hopes that through Heritage she will connect with design companies where she can contribute on a part-time or as-needed basis. The interior design field offers a wide range of paths, from residential firms to independent consulting, and professional communities like ASID help emerging designers build the relationships that lead to flexible opportunities like the ones Cynthia imagines.
Cynthia’s Words
For Cynthia, design is deeply personal. She believes a space should reflect the person or business it surrounds and supports. She loves working with people to visually tell the stories they want to share about themselves, while also encouraging them to step outside their comfort zone so their spaces are not just enjoyable, but truly interesting and engaging.
“Ideally, I’d like guests in spaces I design to say ‘Oh, that’s interesting! Tell me about it…'” – Cynthia
With a lifetime of travel, service, and stories to draw from, Cynthia is well on her way to creating spaces that spark conversation.
To learn more about Heritage School of Interior Design’s Denver programs, visit the Denver campus page.
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