Giving Back: Alumni Team Up with Lincoln for a Design Challenge!

Former students João and Nina will collaborate with our Digital Design teachers to lead a Design Challenge for the Class of 2027. Read more about this initiative.

“Lincoln played a defining role in shaping both our academic and personal development,” former student João expressed to the Lincoln Alumni Committee. Following several planning sessions and a Zoom call with high school seniors, that gratitude has turned into action: João, his sister Nina, and their mother Lilia are partnering with Lincoln's Digital Design teachers to lead a Design Challenge, which is part of the Multimedia 12 (Seniors) curriculum.

The project was developed with the goal of inspiring creativity and thoughtful decision-making as well as enhancing the Multimedia 12 course and “offering students an experience that more closely resembles a real-world work experience in the design industry,” shared High School teacher Verónica García Díaz. The Design Challenge takes place over the three quarters during which Multimedia 12 is taught. 

Life after Lincoln

After graduating in 2017, João Pedro Ellery Lustosa Furtado de Oliveira pursued an Architecture degree at Syracuse University, continuing his professional career in the United States and now in Mexico. His sister, Nina Ellery Lustosa Furtado de Oliveira, graduated from Lincoln in 2019 and moved on to study Communication and Graphic Design at Northeastern University. Her degree led her to work in branding and visual strategy, now pursuing her MFA at Florida International University.

Their drive was evident during their time at Lincoln, where both were deeply involved in campus life, playing three varsity sports and attending SAAC multiple times. As a family, they fully embraced the community by attending school matches, supporting campus activities, and participating in Career Week initiatives. “Lincoln has always been more than an institution to us; it has been a formative community,” João expressed. 

Today, the siblings and their mother Lilia run Studio QI13, a creative agency focused on branding, visual systems, and strategic design. “Our work is grounded in the belief that every idea, regardless of scale,  deserves structure, narrative, and intentional identity,” João shared with us.  These values strongly align with Lincoln’s emphasis on critical thinking, initiative, and interdisciplinary learning. Contributing to the school and giving back through a structured academic initiative came as a wonderful opportunity for networking and community engagement. 

Design Challenge

Studio QI13 operates under a methodology they call F2F (Family to Family), a framework rooted in long-term relationships, responsibility, and community care. “Lincoln is naturally, extended family, and this initiative reflects an important pillar of our practice: giving back to the communities that shaped us,” they explained.  

Alongside their client projects, João and Nina are committed to social impact and meaningful contribution, something Lincoln also supports dearly. Offering this program is a natural extension of their commitment and an opportunity to reconnect with “an institution that gave us so much.”
So, what’s the design challenge about? The project involves starting their own business in one of four available categories: sports, food, fashion, and music. Students must identify a problem within their chosen category and come up with a solution they can offer to their potential customers.

During the first stage, they conduct an in-depth analysis and research on the competition, similar ventures, the company’s objectives, and potential customers. They also conduct surveys to better understand their audience and its needs. Once the research is complete, the second stage begins, during which students create their company’s logo and branding.
Before the school year ends, the top projects from Multimedia 12 will be evaluated, with three winning the title of best Design Challenges of the year. Entries will be judged on their problem-solving approach, business concept, and visual execution.

Giving & receiving

Beyond simple mentorship, this experience introduces design as a structured discipline and viable career path beyond traditional art coursework. Through this collaboration, João and Nina will help students develop real-world skills in concept development, teamwork, presentation, and critical thinking, showing how storytelling and visual systems function as essential business and leadership tools.