RUSH Mentorship Gives MDS Students an Inside Look at Life in Design

For five Bachelor of Media Design students, the final stretch of their degree has included more than completing their Capstone projects. It has also meant stepping inside RUSH to learn directly from designers working in the industry.

Jaron Yoshimura, Jessica McArthur, Lulu Wright, Claudia Mitchell and Danett Pepito were selected for the 2026 RUSH Mentorship Programme, combining weekly group sessions with one-to-one mentoring from members of the RUSH design team.

Now in its third year, the programme has continued to evolve based on feedback from each cohort. It was originally developed in part to give RUSH’s experienced designers opportunities to grow their mentoring skills, while giving emerging designers valuable exposure to professional practice.

RUSH is an Auckland-based design and technology company creating digital products and experiences through a combination of human-centred design and technology.

Learning From Industry

For the MDS students, the programme provides an opportunity to learn not only about design itself, but what it takes to practise it professionally.

Group sessions explore areas including presenting ideas, giving and receiving feedback, design career pathways and working within multidisciplinary teams. Students are also paired with individual RUSH mentors who provide guidance on their Capstone projects and introduce new approaches, tools and perspectives.

For Jaron, that has included discovering frameworks and methods he had not previously encountered and applying them to the ideation and prototyping stages of his Capstone. It has also changed how he thinks about the potential impact of his work.

It’s another reminder that the work that you put out can actually make a real difference,” Jaron says. “I’m not just pushing pixels. I’m actually able to make a change through this design.”

Jessica has similarly been able to apply RUSH’s professional practices directly to her project, including using a user-testing template supplied by her mentor and accessing people within her target demographic for testing.

“Working with Debbie pushed me to think more about the business or client side of things, like situating your design in the real world.”

For Claudia, one of the biggest benefits has been seeing what a professional design environment actually feels like before graduating.

“It’s really been helping break down that nervousness, especially when you’re at a student level,” she says. “It helps build that excitement of, this is what the environment can be like.”

Building Confidence and Connections

Lulu has taken advantage of the opportunity to spend time working from the RUSH studio alongside her mentor, gaining both formal guidance and the ability to ask questions as they arise. Her mentor has also connected her with people outside RUSH who could provide research, insights and feedback relevant to her Capstone.

“You really get to develop a relationship and a friendship with your mentor while they’re teaching you so much that can really help you in the industry,” says Lulu.

For Danett, exposure to professional practice has helped make the prospect of entering the workforce feel more approachable, while strengthening the way she communicates her design thinking.

“Going into the workforce, it doesn’t have to be as nerve-wracking as we project it to be. The way that we give and receive feedback is a big one as well, like learning how to defend our decisions and really stand by it,” says Danett.

That confidence is something RUSH actively hopes to develop through the programme. Kathryn Mountain, who developed the original mentorship programme, says professional exposure can give students a clearer sense of what awaits them after graduation.

“You want them to come away with confidence in their work and feeling ready to take that leap into the industry, but with their eyes open.”

A Two-Way Exchange

The benefits aren’t limited to the students. Kathryn says having emerging designers in the studio brings fresh perspectives to the RUSH team too.

We’ve been quite inspired by them ourselves,” she says. “We get a lot out of the students coming through, as much as they learn from us.”

RUSH has also maintained connections with students from previous cohorts. One former participant has since joined the company, with Kathryn explaining that the programme gave the team an opportunity to get to know the standard of her work and how she approached design before an employment opportunity arose.

For this year’s five MDS mentees, the programme is already helping make the transition from student to professional feel more tangible, while giving them the opportunity to strengthen their work, build industry relationships and learn directly from designers who have already made that transition.