By RAYMOND ADEEKO

Staff Writer

Two students in the department of interior design recently won awards at the American Society for Interior Designers Student Day held March 26 through the 27 at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Valerie Fontenot and Emily Steed, both junior interior design majors, placed second and third, respectively, in the residential design category of the competition.

Suzy Nelson, an assistant professor of interior design, was the supervising professor for the students.

She praised their efforts and said she was pleased with the input and results the students achieved, especially having to compete with people from five other university design programs.

"They are extremely dedicated young professionals who show great potential in the industrial level," Nelson said. "[I believe] they have a bright future in the interior design business."

Fontenot said she was happy to receive the award, although it came as a surprise to her.

"I'm really excited, and it was an honor to win," Fontenot said. "I didn't expect to [place second] because there were a lot of other good works displayed at the competition."

Steed agreed with Fontenot and added that the event was an eye-opener that exposed her to procedures of interior design.

"[The competition] was real helpful because I got to see the different techniques that were being used in the industry," Steed said.

Fontenot said their projects were residential designs based on past styles.

She added that her design was set on the English regency period, while Steed based her work on the neoclassical era.

The neoclassical period was a revival of classic styles and art in England from the mid 1600s through the mid 1700s.

The English regency era focused more on historical details rather than general history.

Nelson said the works integrated architecturally historical influences that included floor plans for a specific client which had to be set in a particular historical picture.

She also said they worked on the aspects of space planning, electrical plans, elevations, dimensioned floor plans, sample boards, fabrics, furnishings, perspective renderings and finish selections to accomplish their respective projects.

Nelson said the achievements reflected the quality of the program and its effectiveness against other interior design programs.

"I think it is of great significance to [our department] for students in the second [year] to receive these awards," Nelson said. "I think it says the program is effective especially in our quality of work [that the curriculum offers] and students can compete better at the [national level]."

Nelson said the awards have set a standard for future participants and they "look forward to participating next year and winning more honors in more categories."