A 20-year-old North Battleford student has earned an honourable mention in a National Kitchen and Bath Association student design competition.
Megan MacNaughton is a classmate of Krista Savino, 25, of Saskatoon who earned third place in the competition and a trip to 2014 Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas where she will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Both are interior design technology students at Lakeland College's Vermilion campus.
In October, Krista Savino completed her bathroom design for the NKBA student competition, she was relieved to be finished the project.
"It was very stressful because we were just learning how to use AutoCAD (design and drafting software) and I had only designed one bathroom prior to the competition," says Savino, a second year student.
Much to her surprise, the 25-year-old Saskatoon resident placed third in the competition that featured hundreds of entries from a total of 39 colleges and universities throughout North America.
With the placings, the program's winning streak in design competitions extends to 11 years. Asked if the program's success in competitions adds extra pressure to students, Savino admits it does. "We didn't want to be the class to break the streak. Fortunately we won't be," she says.
In previous years, students entered a kitchen and a bathroom design by the end of November. This year, NKBA changed submission deadlines to Oct. 31. Because of the shortened timelines, the students entered only the bathroom portion of the competition. They will participate in another NKBA competition this academic year and will submit a kitchen design.
Given the reduced amount of time that students had to work on their projects, instructors Greg Plant and Fiona McLeod recognized the odds were against Lakeland students to place in this NKBA competition.
"They hardly had any experience working with AutoCAD. They were learning the software while they were completing the project," says Plant.
But, as in the past, the students once again exceeded their instructors' expectations. "We submitted 19 entries and, in my opinion, our students really did meet the challenge described in the competition," says McLeod.
Students had to create a bathroom design for a fictional client who lived in Nebraska. The design had to reflect the natural habitat of the area and incorporate sustainable materials. Entries consisted of a concept statement, perspective, working drawings and material board. Savino created a modern but casual design. MacNaughton's design featured organic material.
Breaking into the top three in the competition is an important accomplishment for Savino.
"It means so much to me. It's really rewarding to know my hard work is paying off. I also have to thank our instructors. They are excellent," she says. "This program is a very busy two-year program. There is no going home after the school day is done. I need to be here (in a design lab) working after class pretty much all the time. But placing third has boosted my confidence. I know I'm on the right track."
For more information on Lakeland College's interior design technology program, visit www.lakelandcollege.ca.
