Talking With Joel Carela:  The “Corporeal Connection” at MITdesignX

by Maria Iacobo

Joel arrived at MIT about three years ago to take on the role of Program Assistant for MITdesignX. Originally from Washington D.C., Joel moved to the Boston area a few years after graduating from the College of William and Mary. 

Some quick facts about Joel: he loves cities and savory foods (even breakfast!); he doesn’t drive; and he’s excited about moving from Quincy to Boston at the end of the summer where “sidewalks are plentiful and I can walk everywhere.” 

What’s the best thing about your job?
I love being on the ground floor of so many ideas and conversations. I came to MIT already interested in cities and transportation — but especially the history and shape of cities. Coming into this job I was excited to see how people are pondering ideas about how to positively impact cities. I love seeing the beginnings of these big ideas. 

What would people be surprised to learn about your work?

Probably who I’m able to work with — especially with [the variety of] students [and their interests]. So many people come to see us from all around MIT, academia, and industry who want to know more about what we do. Even though our program is housed in SA+P, and our mission to launch ventures from the School, working with MIT at large is a major strength. Students from Harvard, BU and other universities [can also participate in our program]. Because of the variety of people, I [witness] all of these great interactions…people from Sloan or Engineering, for example, get to chill around the designers here. It’s all cool. It’s dynamic. I’m a multi-disciplinarian at heart so seeing people converge gets me excited because that’s where the possibility is.

What have you learned either professionally or personally working through the pandemic? How were you able to make this past year work for you?

I almost feel badly to say it’s been a bit easier just because so much of my work is directly connecting on the phone or over Zoom and emailing. As an administrative assistant, I also buy supplies for the office and food for meetings. With the pandemic, all of that work was cleared away. I didn’t have to worry about saving receipts or picking up things from other places on campus. 

On the other hand, there is a lot to be said for meeting everyone in person. When I got to designX, we were just ramping up for the start of a new cohort and I went through the whole program with that cohort. Our 2020 cohort started in person and we worked together until everything changed. But at least we were all together in this. We’d met and knew who each other was. I’ve met few of our 2021 cohort in person, but we connected well on Zoom. Still, I cannot wait to meet this cohort in person. I don’t know how tall anyone is or how short anyone is or how loud people are in person. These things don’t really matter, but they are things that help us connect. It’s just a human thing. It will be fun to meet people in person because it will be like, ‘I know you, but I don’t know you.’ It’s the corporeal connection!

Do you have a favorite activity on the weekends?

During the pandemic I was mostly playing video games. What else could I do? But in general, I just like to pack up my backpack and walk somewhere. I’m out experiencing whatever’s happening. I’m more of a spur of the moment person. I don’t make a lot of plans, but I like receiving plans!

What does a good day look like in your office?

Our office space houses Stella so we have a lot of visitors. I also love when there is more than one team working in our space together because they bring a lot of laughter. If you’re an alumni team you still are welcome to our space. When an alumni team is chatting with a new team it’s great listening to them exchange stories and ideas. So, a great day is having teams working and getting to watch a rush of people in and out. I am always giving directions to people looking for the library. They can see the library through our office, but they don’t know how to get there. Everyone gets lost. Even I got lost the day of my interview. I was on the right floor but I didn’t know how the office numbers worked. I was sweaty as hell. Someone found me and led me to the office.

Is there one thing that you are looking forward to seeing/doing when we finally return to campus?

I can’t wait to walk across campus via the Infinite Corridor and other buildings. It’s such a humanistic snapshot of the Institute, what with everyone always in motion in every direction.