Jacinta Cofield – Alumni Profile

Jacinta Cofield is an East Carolina University Access Scholar, class of 2018, alumna. Her work today helps entertain and inspire home improvement fans across the country: she is a full-time design assistant with HGTV’s hit show, “Love It or List It.” On the show, Jacinta’s role is not limited to assisting the design team by drafting floor plans, selecting and ordering finishes, furniture, and equipment, as well as creating resource guides.

After obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and an Associate of Science in Business Administration at ECU, she enrolled in The Academy of Art University (AAU) to pursue a master’s degree in architecture. Throughout her educational career, Jacinta has had numerous design internships in Raleigh and Durham. Upon graduating from ECU in 2018, She received her Autodesk Certified Professional (ACP) certification, in Revit Architecture Essentials, as a resource that showcases her design and talent.

Jacinta remarked that all of the teachings from her interior design professors at ECU – Charles Gustina, Susan Meggs, Katherine Swank and Scott Power – resonate with her and relate to her studies at AAU. She believes her experiences at ECU fully prepared her for graduate school, as well as her career. Moreover, she is grateful for the support she received as the recipient of the James and Connie Maynard Access Scholarship during her ECU career.

To Jacinta, ECU means undaunted: not intimidated or discouraged by difficulty or disappointment.

Jacinta also shared how her mother, Jose Taylor, the Executive Director at Windsor House, an Affinity Living Group facility, instilled the importance of education in her and her sister, Jharnell Cofield, a Pirate graduate of 2020. She said that her mother still tells them today, “The knowledge or wisdom you gain, no one can take it away from you.”

Jacinta’s advice to prospective Pirates: “When you lose something, do not think of it as a loss. Instead, accept it as a gift that gets you on the path you were meant to travel on. You may be overlooked within your company, you may be held back from pursuing your main interests, and you may lose your job at the fault of the company. However, always remember that sometimes, God’s blessings are not in what he gives, but in what he takes away.”