All of us at Synergy Design & Construction believe the holiday season is the perfect time to reflect on how much the local Reston community means to us and how important it is for us to give back. Being in Reston allows us to help improve many people’s lives with beautiful new spaces, but our amazing staff members strive to give back to the community beyond providing excellent home renovations.
Recently, Nicola Shelley, Synergy’s Program Manager, was named Volunteer of the Year by The Greater Reston Arts Center for her work as Lead Art Coordinator at her local Elementary School!
Each of the over 2,000 volunteers are critical to GRACE’s success and each one deserves appreciation. However, on top of their 20-hour monthly commitment requirement, Nicola enthusiastically participates in all GRACE’s additional offerings including the Youth Art exhibition, volunteer and member nights, and the Family Art Park at GRACE’s Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. GRACE Art would not be possible without the support of the volunteer Docents and Coordinators leading art instruction in area classrooms. Nicola’s enthusiastic work takes the program above and beyond, impacting the lives of 700 future art lovers every year.
“The GRACE Art program holds a special place in my heart” said Nicola Shelley, “At a time when many school arts programs have been cut, it is especially important to bring art history into the classroom and make art accessible to all children. GRACE Art allows elementary school children to make connections to the world around them as well as allowing for teachable moments regarding diversity, perseverance and uniqueness. There is no better feeling than having a student tell you something they have learned about an artist or show you their completed art project with pride and a sense of accomplishment.”
At Synergy, we always love to see our staff serving our community, and we are honored to have Nicola on board. Nicola’s history with us began even before she joined our team because she used to be one of our clients! As a long time resident of Reston, Nicola hired Synergy a few years ago to complete an entire first floor remodel, including the kitchen. The finished kitchen renovation was even featured on Houzz. A prospective homebuyer saw our kitchen renovation work on Houzz and later purchased the house when it went on the market. Nicola also hired us to complete a laundry and mudroom renovation as part of a basement remodel in her new home, and has yet rule out another kitchen renovation in her new place.
Below are before and after pictures of the two renovations we completed for Nicola:
Kitchen:
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- Before
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- After
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- After
Mudroom/Laundry:
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- Before
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- Before
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- After
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- After
After the renovation, Nicola loved our high quality work and desire to take care of our clients so much, she joined us as Program Manager! In her role, she’s been instrumental at bringing her eye as a client to improving, standardizing, and documenting our processes. We are very proud to have someone so dedicated to giving back to her community working with us, and we hope to continue to follow the example Nicola has set for the Reston community.
Congratulations again Nicola for all you do for Reston and our Synergy Design & Construction team!
