The Villa Maria College Interior Design program hosted a reception in honor of its annual Student Exhibition, which opened on February 28th. This event marked a special milestone in the Interior Design program’s history, it’s 15th anniversary as a baccalaureate program, Villa Maria’s first such program. A VIP reception with President Matthew Giordano, was held prior to the start of the gallery opening.
Special recognition was given to three students who were named this year’s Distinguished Students of the Year. The work of the Interior Design students was assessed on professionalism, creativity and complexity, and three winners were selected by a panel of design experts including professional architects and interior designers from the Western, NY community. This year’s winners were:
- 1st place – Sarah Filkorn ‘20
- 2nd place – Angela Cerroni ‘22
- 3rd place – Emma Massimi ‘20
Angela, left; Sarah, center; Emma, right
All reception attendees were asked to vote for the Best of Show Award, which is given to the freshman student whose original chair design earned the most votes. This year’s winner was Bailey Boyer ’23. Boyer’s work was selected among many entries, all of which were designed using marker and colored pencil technique.
Emmalee Lowe ’22, one of the student exhibitors, commented that “among the things it takes to complete a project like this, it’s important to use sustainable features and universal design techniques.” Lowe added that she gained “a knowledge of what’s going on around me and how spaces effect a person.”
Another student exhibitor, Markisha Harris ’21, commented on the importance of collaboration in designing and displaying her work, “feedback and critique is important, you have to get an understanding of other people’s opinions.” She went on to add that since beginning the Interior Design program she has learned how to weld and use architecture software, two things she didn’t except to learn going into this major.
This event was generously sponsored by Mid-City Office Furniture, Millington Lockwood, Eaton Office Supply, and Prentice Office Environments. For more information on studying Interior Design at Villa, click here.
Check out more photos including our three winners’ work or watch a video from the reception night.
