2020 Ones to Watch: TJ DiFeo, Senior Associate at Bergmeyer

What led you to your current profession? I love art and working in many types of media. Creating something that is meant to be experienced is energizing. Also, my dad worked as an architect until he retired. Over the span of his career he worked on so many project types of different scales and specialties. It was fun to see what he was doing next. That intrigued and inspired me. Seeing that architecture could change for you within moments, hours, days or weeks, and is integral to the creation of experiences was exciting. I don’t like being bored. This profession has creativity and an ever-evolving nature. Perfect.

What advice can you offer to someone who is interested in a career in your industry? Do it. The ever-changing design industry is so much fun, and there are always new challenges. Never allowing anyone to box you into what convention says about you or your profession becomes a motivator. Striving for new ways to be creative can be refreshing when at times, things can seem stale. That is why I love being a part of Bergmeyer. As a design collaborative, we are presented with new challenges every day. Our curious and supportive culture provides the fluidity to do what we do, giving the entire team access to that freedom of creativity. 

If your life were made into a movie, what actor would you want to portray you? I guess I would have to say…Jeremy Piven. He does a great job transforming himself for his roles and adapting to the needs of the effort. This is how I feel about project types and new challenges. I also love the show Seinfeld and his “George” on the pilot of Jerry still makes me crack up. “I’d go crazy if I had to decide which sneakers to wear?” Plus…people have mentioned the resemblance before. (Which is great since he seems to age in reverse!)

How have your life experiences impacted who you are professionally? Family is extremely important to me. My family takes care of each other no matter the circumstances. We celebrate achievements big and small and are sure to thank those that had an impact. This has influenced my relationships with my teams. I know I cannot do what I do every day and have the success that I have had without the team. We are like a family, which couldn’t be more evident than the success that we have had during the pandemic. We stay connected. We continue to support one another. We are successful. We say thank you.