Department of Interior Design and Fashion Studies

Interior Design Student Awards

In recent years, our Interior Design students have been very successful in regional and national design competitions.

2024

  • Benjamin Hall, Ashley von Mosch, and Regan Wright, 4th year students in interior design, were named 2024's Outstanding Seniors of the interior design program.
  • Ashley von Mosch, 4th year student in interior design, presented her research and evidence-based design project titled "Designing a Supportive Transitional Living environment for Homeless Youth" at the annual HHS Research/Creative/Scholarship and Discovery (RSCAD) Showcase in Spring 2024.
  • Regan Wright, 4th year student in interior design, presented her research and evidence-based design project titled "Shifting the Addiction Mindset: Designing Recovery Homes for Individuals with Substance Use Disorders" at the annual HHS Research/Creative/Scholarship and Discovery (RSCAD) Showcase and the K-State Undergraduate Research Forum in Spring 2024.
  • Sarah Adams, Abby Busby, Sydney Martinson, and Jadyn Wolf, 4th year students in interior design, were awarded 2nd place in the 2024 annual IDEC Student Design Competition with their design submission, "Burrow".
  • Kayla Bonczkowski, 3rd year student in interior design, placed in the top 28 with her Next Design Firm project in Steelcase's annual 'NEXT' competition. Read the story to learn more.

2023

  • Madison Svoboda, 4th year student in interior design, was awarded the 2023-24 Thermador Diversity in Design Pipeline Scholarship. The scholarship includes a $10,000 monetary scholarship, a yearlong mentorship, and membership to IDS. Svoboda has also been nominated for the Metropolis Magazine 2024 Future 100 Undergraduate Interior Designers! Read the story to learn more.
  • Molly Edelman and Christianna Kasunic, 3rd year students in interior design, were each awarded NEWH scholarships, receiving $3,000 and $8,000 in scholarships, respectively. They were also recognized for their achievements at the Annual Chapter Scholarship Gala in Dallas, TX.
  • Benjamin Hall, Savannah Harrison, Jadyn Wolf, and Olivia Richardson, 4th year students in interior design, won 1st place in the 2023 annual IDEC Video Competition with their submission on the sense and how design can improve the well-being of neurodivergent groups. Read the story to learn more.
  • K-State's Interior Design Program was named 'one to know' in Architectural Digest's ADPRO top-20 list. Read the story to learn more.
  • Savannah Hinck, 4th year student in interior design, presented her research work over living environments for seafarers at an AECOM Quarter Global Leadership Meeting. Her research and subcinct design was received by individuals from China, Spain, England, France, Ireland, Germany, and across the United States. Her design solutions detailed how to improve the lives of seafarers while they live at sea in high-stress environments, and was directed to maritime organizations to remind them of the importance of these concepts.

2022

  • K-State's Interior Design Program ranked 4th in collegerank.net's ranking of university interior design programs. Read the story to learn more.
  • Sydney Tucker, 4th year student in interior design, landed a spot on Metropolis Magazine's Future 100 list for her excellence in design. Read the story to learn more.
  • Rachel Aranda, Anna Hudson, and Sydney Tucker, 4th year students in interior design, were awarded third place in the midwestern region for the 2022 IDEC Student Design Competion with their project, "Strata". Read the story to learn more.
  • Mimi Anderson, Holly Frakes, and Savannah Hinck, 3rd year students in interior design, placed first place in the 2022 IDEC Student Design Competition with their project, "Loom". Read the story to learn more.
  • Savannah Hinck, Alexis Coleman, and Ashley Manzo, 3rd year students in interior design, won first place in the 2022 IDECF Video Competition for their research detailing what and how systems should be applied for permanent housing that serves the homeless community. Read the story to learn more.
  • Nhat-Quynh Pham, Margaret Ahearn, and Ciara Hovis, 3rd year students in interior design, won second place in the IDECF 2022 Video Competition with their submission that focused on how community-based systems support well-being. Read the story to learn more.

2021

  • Aidan Lammers, Blaze Parson, and Mimi Anderson, 2nd year students in interior design, earned regional finalist recognition in the 2021 IDEC Student Design Competition for their project, "Lorem". Read the story to learn more.
  • Mikayla Adkins, Rachel Aranda, Katie Cunningham, and Alyssa O’Neal, 3rd year students in interior design, produced an award-winning video describing the findings of design research related to the pandemic’s impact on the practice of interior design. Read the story to learn more.
  • Mikayla Adkins, Brett LaFleur, Hannah Richardson, and Sydney Tucker, 3rd year students in interior design, were recognized by the College of Health and Human Sciences for their research detailing how to support the idea of ‘aging-in-place’, especially in low-income environments. Read the article to learn more.

2020

  • Aubrey Koontz, Samantha Cordell, and Rachel Eastman, 4th year students in interior design, took 1st place in the 2020 Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Student Video Competition - Diversity and Interior Design. Each year, the Interior Design Educators Council hosts a video competition, asking participants to create a short video on a specified topic. This year’s competition explored the meaning of diversity and inclusion for interior designers. The competition sought videos that expand audience thinking about the practice and future of interior design in an increasingly diverse society. Entries were judged on how well they address the topic, creativity/engagement, suitability for sharing with a non-designer audience and professional quality.

2019

  • Jessica Pennington, 4th year student in interior design, recently received the Horizon Award presented by the IIDA Mid-America Chapter. She is the first ever recipient of this award. This award recognizes a student in this chapter with a passion for the craft of design and shows leadership on-campus.
  • Keim, Alexa (Faculty Advisor, Kaup, M. L.) (April 2019). Empowering women through the design of domestic violence shelters. Presented at the College of Human Ecology RSCAD Forum.
  • Keim, Alexa (Faculty Advisor, Kaup, M. L.) (April 2019). Empowering women through the design of domestic violence shelters. Presented at the K-State Undergraduate Research Conference.
  • Amanda Hinnen, third-year in Interior Design, was awarded the NEWH Scholarship Award For Outstanding Academic Studies in Interior Design.
  • Amber Montgomery, second-year in Interior Design, was awarded the NEWH Scholarship Award For Outstanding Academic Studies in Interior Design.
  • ATID Student Symposium. (2019, April 25-26). The Showcase of Excellence highlighted K-State student work and entries from secondary students in Kansas. K-State student award winners were: Brett Lafluer, Ivana Maodus, Hannah Richardson, Alexus Keim, Angie Leek, Madison Larkin, Lyndsay Jaeger, Abby Swafford, Emilie Salongridaysa, Adrianna Castillo, Mallory Gray, Reilly McMillan, Jaxson Metzler, Jamie Hoffman, Andrada Redmond, Faith Janssen, Sandy Her, Sierra Chase, Lauren Lane, Ashley Oldham, Martha Hill, Brittany Blackim, Ana Garcia, Emilie Holloway, Gracie Key, Allison Nigg, Gigi Oste, Kristen Tompkins, Jenna Znamenak, Kelly Grogan, Amani Hasam and there were three secondary school students recognized.

2018

  • Allison Stout, Bethany Pingel and Angie Leek, third-year students in interior design, recently took second place in the national Interior Design Educators Council video competition. The competition challenged students to create videos that engage a general audience to think differently about the human-centered interior design and the impact the profession has on user lives and experience. Video submissions were asked to focus on one of the following themes: culture, pedagogy, practice, social impact and boundaries. The team created their three-minute video centered on the aging population. https://www.idec.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=3724.
  • Meredith Verzino, senior in interior design, along with four other students from different universities, won the 2018 People's Choice Award for a project that was presented at an international conference in June. Verzino competed in the IIDA Student Design Charette at the annual NeoCon conference along with Sarah Love, University of North Texas; Dawn Turner, Art Institute of Pittsburgh-Online; Stephanie McShane, New England Institute of Technology; and Esteffany Inzunza, San Diego Mesa College. Competitors in this challenge are nominated by their respective schools and then joined into teams at the conference. The charette, which is an intense collaborative session in which a group of designers draft a solution to a design problem within a limited time frame for presentation, challenged teams of five with a design problem. The teams were given six hours to determine a design solution, develop a presentation and pitch their concept to a panel of judges. They were given specific deliverables that must be provided in the presentation along with a few supplies for visual representation.
  • Orthel, B., Rios, M., Verzino, M. (2018). Report on a Community Design Meeting for a Proposed Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre Rehearsal Building.

2017

  • Day, J.K., Martin, Rhiana, and Heronemus, S. (2017). Daylight: The good, the bad, and the glary. Occupant perceptions of theremal comfort, visual comfort, and productivity. Paper presentation at PLEA (Passive and Low Energy Architecture) international conference, Edinburgh, Scotland. (Julia Day, faculty adviser).
  • Cope, Melina, Hornung, Cecilia, Rios, Madison K., Roth, Laura C., and Winrick, Darbie N. (2017). Design considerations & space program for An Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre Rehearsal Building. (Manhattan, KS: Kansas State University). (Bryan Orthel, faculty adviser)
  • Shelli Brannan (2017, senior in Interior design) College of Human Ecology's Undergraduate Research and Creative Inquiry Forum. Best apparel, textile, and interior design research poster Light and learning: Effects of lighting conditions on children with ASD.
  • ATID Student Symposium (2017, April 13-14). The Showcase of Excellence highlighted K-State student work and entries from secondary students in Kansas. K-State student award winners were Brooke Robertson, Laure Wiebe, Megan Briggs, Abby Condrey, Aaron Simon, Maggie Stuart, McKenzie Tignor, Haoqing Liu, Allyson Woodard, Shelli Brannan, Kolbyn Allen, MacKenzie Larkin, Amber Faloona, Margaret Baughman, Louis Schuler, Schyler Slaven, Emily Andrews, Brooke Wallace, Emily Sanders, Maria Zarina Domingo, Yelei Yang, Jennifer Ast, Samantha White and there were three secondary school students recognized.

2016

  • EPA National Student Design Competition for Sustainability on People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) (2016) Madeleine Biles (ID) and Imran Islam (AT) were members of an interdisciplinary team recognized with a judges’ commendation for a project titled: “Net zero energy air filtration: Innovative filter media applications for improved indoor air quality and energy efficiency,” (Julia Day, Jooyoun Kim, Steve Eckels, and Chris Manzo, faculty advisers).
  • Shelby Kiser (2016). Small scale living and the meaning of home. Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 15. Available http://www.kon.org/urc/v15/kiser. (Migette Kaup, faculty adviser).

2015

  • Melissa Montgomery (2015). Benefits of biophilia in design explored through the human ecology model. Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 14. Access from https://www.kon.org/urc/v14/montgomery.html. (Bryan Orthel, faculty adviser).
  • Rachel Knox, 4th year interior design student from Shawnee, Kansas won a $1000 scholarship by entering the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Wilsonart Essay Competition. Rachel will be graduating this May with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design and a secondary major in Gerontology. In her winning essay she shares her experience at Atlas Carpet for the IIDA Student Mentoring Week. "With my brain buzzing, shirt tucked, and my right palm embarrassingly covered in green permanent marker from my late night design studio project, I left the house to meet my busy mentor for the day. In the passenger seat, my mother’s black leather portfolio sat with scribbled questions such as 'why do you love this job?' and 'what drew you to this industry?'” Read Rachel's essay on the IIDA website.
  • ATID Student Symposium (2015, April 16-17). The Showcase of Excellence highlighted K-State student work and entries from secondary students in Kansas. K-State student award winner were Arianna Levin, Aaron Simon, Kelsie Doty, Kelly Kell, Elena Andrus, Emily Andrews, Virginia Davis, Brooke Wallace, Brittany Westbrook, Kathryn Zoschke, Samantha White, McKenzie Tignor, Kaylee Champagne and there were three secondary school students recognized.
  • Melea Stone, 4th year interior design student from Topeka, Kansas won $1500 by applying for International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA) Leaders Commemorative Scholarship. Melea will be graduating May 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. The IFDA scholarship is awarded to a full-time student who has completed a minimum of four design courses in a post-secondary interior design or closely related program. Melea’s winning application included a 200-400 word essay explaining her long and short term goals, special interests, volunteer/community service, and what inspired her to pursue a professional career in interior design. In addition, she submitted two to three examples of design work, a letter of recommendation from a professor, and provided a list of her leadership activities. To learn more about this opportunity visit the IFDAEF website.
  • Alyssa Smith, May 2015 interior design graduate from Powell, Wyoming was a member of the winning team of the 4th Annual IIDA Student Design Charette at NeoCon that took place on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. The event featured 12 teams made up of IIDA Student Members solving a design challenge within 6 hours. The charrette involved the redesign an atrium area on the 8th floor of the Chicago Merchandise Mart into an area with a lounge, private work space, semi-private work space, open work space, and a micro bistro that would serve as guest check in. Teams also had to brand the space and create a way to direct the public up to the space from the main level. The newly designed space had to propose a solutions that would accommodate up to 100 people. Each team was provided with a collection of furniture pieces from the sponsors of the competition, and pen and ink media to manually develop a final presentation. Teams then had 5 minutes to present their design ideas to a panel of respected judges from the Interior Design industry. Other IIDA student members of this winning team represented Academy of Art University, San Francisco, Colorado State University, University of Missouri, and Harrington College of Design, Chicago. To read more about the competition visit the IIDA website.

2014

  • Foster Kutner, senior interior design student from Greenwood Village, CO was one of five students recognized with an Honorable Mention in the 2014 NEXT student design competition sponsored by Steelcase Inc. it is a remarkable recognition for the ID program. Last year, the competition recognized another of our students as one of the five finalists. The ID program has been recognized in two consecutive years among the top-ten awards from the NEXT Student Design Competition.
  • Jordan DeTar Newbert (Faculty Advisor, Kaup, M. L.) (2014). Lighting, vision, and aging in place: The impact of living with low vision in independent living facilities. Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 13. Read the paper on the KON website.
  • Kaylee Champagne and Emma Wilson (2014, October) won the second annual Mid-America chapter of IIDA Student Design Wars ($2,000). The event was held on October 17, 2014 at Trozzolo Communications Group in Kansas City, Missouri. The "Design Wars" challenged students to create innovative designs for existing spaces in downtown Kansas City. Each team had 2.5 hours to complete a floor plan, provide concept images, put together a presentation and then pitch their solutions to a panel of influential industry leaders. This event was open to sophomore, junior and senior interior design students currently enrolled in an interior design degree program at the university level.
  • Sara Gasser was awarded the College of Human Ecology Student of the Month. Sara is a senior majoring in Interior Design. She was chosen because of her involvement in Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and for her work as a student ambassador and a member of iDesign.
  • Two interior design students, Jordan DeTar Newbert and Hillary L’Ecuyer, were accepted to participate in the 19th Annual K-State Research Forum. Their faculty advisor is Dr. Migette Kaup.
  • Jordan DeTar Newbert (Faculty Advisor, Migette Kaup) (March 2014). Lighting, vision, and aging in place: The impact of living with low vision in independent living facilities. Presented at the K-State Research Forum.
  • Hillary L'Ecuyer (Faculty Advisor, Migette Kaup) (March 2014). The adaptive reuse of rural schools and the effects on community and quality of life. Presented at the K-State Research Forum.

2013

  • Sara Gasser, selected as one of five finalists in the Stelcase NEXT student design competition.
  • Erin Cammel, senior in Interior Design, was selected to present her research at the 18th annual K-State Research Forum. Erin's research paper is entitled "The Growing American Dream: An Analysis of Historic Trends in Housing."
  • Sydney Hall, Haoran Hu, and Andrea Sisk, seniors in Interior Design had their project "A Refreshing Education" selected as a Midwest Regional finalist for the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Student Design Competition. Their project was selected out of 34 submissions representing 12 different Interior Design programs. The other two Midwest Regional finalists were from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, and Maryville University, St. Louis, MO. These top three projects will join the other regional winners to be judged at the national level at the 2013 IDEC annual conference.
  • Three students from the Interior Design Program in the Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design in the College of Human Ecology have won first place in the 2012/13 Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) Student Design Competition with their entry "A Refreshing Education." Sydney Hall (Colorado Springs, CO), Andrea Sisk (Overland Park, KS) and Haoran Hu (Wuhan City, China) were selected as the first place winners from among 101 entries from North American interior design programs.
  • Courtney Taylor, third-year in Interior Design, was awarded the NEWH Icon of the Industry Scholarship.

2012

  • A project created by a 3-person team of interior design students from K-State was selected as honorable mentions (pdf) in the Midwest Region portion of the 2011-2012 IDEC Student Competition. Team members were Becca Ayon, Jessica Smith and Brittani Weber.

2011

  • A project created by a 3-person team of interior design students from K-State was selected as one of three regional finalists in the Midwest Region portion of the 2010-2011 IDEC Student competition. Team members were Jen Burke, Lydia Travis, and Kaitlin Jones.
  • Rachel Ellerbe Bartelsmeyer, Amy Boesen, and Stacy Davis Kerl won the Outstanding Human Achievement Award in the student division competition at the Mid-America Design Awards, sponsored by the International Interior Design Association's (IIDA) Mid-America chapter.
  • ID student was awarded a scholarship from The Network of Executive Women in Hospitality (NEWH).

2010

  • Joanne Heimsoth Fields was awarded one of three $1,000.00 scholarships given annually by the Missouri West/Kansas Chapter of ASID. This is Joanne's second time receiving this scholarship.
  • A team of two Kansas State University interior design students were awarded First Place in the 2009-2010 IDEC Student Design Competition. The team is comprised of Kristen Henriksen and Morgan Zwickel. The award was given at the annual International Conference of the Interior Design Educators Council in Atlanta, GA.
  • Amy Boesen, an Interior Design student from Sedgwick, earned the Student Gold Award in the third annual Mid-America Design Awards, sponsored by the International Interior Design Association's Mid-America chapter.

2009

  • IIDA Mid-America 2009 Student Scholarship competition. Honorable Mention – Josie Clymer, Kansas State University.
  • Lydia Travis, an interior design student receives one of 6 scholarships awarded by the College of Human Ecology to help fund her study in Italy and France.
  • Yolonda Guyton was awarded one of five 2009-2010 Multicultural Scholarships by the College of Human Ecology.

2008

  • Two K-State interior design teams were regional finalists in the Midwest Region portion of the 2007-2008 IDEC Student competition. The two teams were composed of: 1. Eva Newill, Kara Schmidt, and Catie Carpenter, and 2. Alison Hecht, Alexandra Sumpter and Haley Van Wagenen.
  • Alison Hecht, Alexandra Sumpter and Haley Van Wagenen (Faculty Advisor – Peggy Honey), were awarded First Place nationally in the 2007-2008 IDEC Student Design Competition. The win came at the annual International conference of the Interior Design Educators Council in Montreal, Canada.

2007

  • Heather Clark, a senior in Interior Design had her article, "Disposable Furniture = Disposable Futures, in the May 2007 issue of Interiors and Sources, a professional publication serving the interior design community.
  • A May 2007 graduate of K-State's interior design program received a diversity scholarship from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The scholarship will allow Georganne W. White of Manhattan to attend the organization's fall conference in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.
  • Jackie Shaw was awarded an honorable mention in the ACCESS Design Challenge sponsored by ASID. Her project was published in the fall issue of ACCESS magazine, an ASID publication.

2006

  • Migette Kaup, Peggy Honey and Melissa Adams (ID Graduate May 2005) are the recipients of a K-State Tilford Incentive Grants to support the infusion and assessment of multicultural competencies within the educational experiences of K-State Students. Their project, Multicultural Learning through Student Leadership will apply disciplinary practices that foster multicultural service learning opportunities for Interior Design students through professional development activities related to the student organizations of ASID and IIDA. Student-driven learning activities for this project will involve outreach to prospective students in historically under-represented groups. Current interior design students will learn about diversity issues related to the profession through their leadership in recruitment efforts.
  • Thanks to Brent Aldridge and Georganne White, 3rd year interior design students, the ATID department received a software package, free of charge, for the interior design students to use when designing commercial office projects. The package is worth $3,000, given to us by ProjectMatrix of Cincinnati, OH, and is designed to be used with AutoCAD. The package includes CAD blocks, pricing and specifications for several major furniture manufacturers.
  • Natalie Trudeau, 4th year interior design student received 3rd place in the Metropolitian Home National Design Competition.
  • Elissa Bartel, 3rd Year interior design student won a Kansas City IFMA (International Facilities Management Associations) competitive scholarship of $1,000. Ms. Bartel's faculty advisor was Migette Kaup.

2005

  • Audrey Koehn, fourth-year student in interior design won 1st place in the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) design competition. A panel of five NKBA Certified Members judged over 127 entries from 26 different schools from across the country. In choosing the winner, the judges considered safety, functional use of space, innovative design solutions, professional presentation, and overall aesthetic statement.
  • Amy Gowens received 1st place in the Corporate and Health Care Divisions and Best in Show in the Brass Ring [national] competition.
  • Jessica Richardson received 2nd place in the Corporate Design Division and the Silver Best in Show in the Brass Ring competition.
  • Natalie Trudeau, a 4th year interior design student, was awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the National Executive Women in Hospitality (NEWH) Lonestar Chapter in Dallas, TX. NEWH is a national organization founded in 1984 to promote the professional opportunities for women in the hospitality industry through professional contact, scholarship, and education.

2004

  • K-State's Interior Design/Interior Architecture program ranked 3rd according to a 2004 nationwide survey of leading firms across the United States. The annual survey, by Design Intelligence and the Design Futures Council in conjunction with the Almanac of Architecture and Design, asks firms to indicate which accredited programs have produced, in the last five years, graduates most prepared for practice. Principals of more than 1,000 firms across the nation receive the survey.
  • Interior design students, Andrea Falk, Carly Hillman, Lindsay Kingman, Shuang Wang, and Heather Zimmerman were invited to join Kappa Omicron Nu. A student must have a 3.5 GPA to be asked to join.
  • Audrey Koehn won 1st place in the Residential Category of the Brass Ring Competition, a national exhibit of student design sponsored annually by Oklahoma Christian University. She also received a Best of Show Gold Award and $100 cash prize.
  • Aaron Rolfe received the 2nd place award in both the Residential and Corporate categories in addition to a Best of Show Bronze Award and a $25 cash prize at the Brass Ring Competition.