ASID Illinois Chapter Announces Scholarship Opportunities

Furniture World Magazine

The American Society of Interior Designers - Illinois Chapter (ASID-IL) today announces scholarship opportunities for full-time interior design students in the state of Illinois who are members of ASID (student, allied or professional). Two winners will each receive $1,000 scholarships by summer 2008. The funds are to be used to help offset fees for tuition, books and supplies. "Interior design, similar to other professional creative fields, is continually looking for the best and brightest to strengthen the profession. Assisting students through scholarships is our way of giving back and recognizing fresh perspectives. We are excited to see what is presented in this year's applications," said James Landa, ASID, 2007-08 ASID-IL chapter president. Entry forms to both competitions can be downloaded on the ASID Illinois Web page or obtained by calling the ASID Illinois Chapter office at 312-467-5080 A number of ASID Illinois Chapter Board members will judge the scholarship competitions. The awards will be presented to the winners at the ASID Luncheon at NeoCon® World's Trade Fair in Chicago in June. ABOUT THE RICHARD R. SMITH MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP The Richard R. Smith Memorial Scholarship competition is based upon excellence in design. The application deadline is May 16, 2008. Every applicant will be given an "as built" footprint of a space that provides a small commercial retail store with an apartment for the proprietor. Students will be given all the design requirements that will need to be met for a complete design. Submitted on no more than two 18" x 24" boards, the individual projects should include a scaled floor plan with all applicable symbols, two elevations, five material selections, and all life-safety and accessibility regulations must be met. ABOUT THE DALE NIECE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP The Dale Niece Memorial Scholarship competition is an essay contest. The application deadline is April 30, 2008. The competition is based on a 250- to 400-word essay on the importance of taking the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ) exam and becoming a professional interior designer. This particular award is based upon financial need of students. For more information about ASID-IL, visit www.asidillinois.com, or call the ASID Illinois Chapter headquarters at 312-467-5080. ABOUT THE "FIND A DESIGNER" SERVICE The Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers offers a free, convenient, user-friendly online service that consumers and business professionals can use to search for interior designers throughout the state. Find A Designer, available at www.FindADesignerIL.com, allows site visitors to preview profiles of ASID-IL designers before contacting them for a project interview. The online service includes easy-to-navigate Web pages, more than 75 designer profile pages, and the ability to search by location and designer specialty. Consumers have the ability to review as many designer profiles as they'd like and find out more about each designer, as well as view samples of their work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at their convenience. ABOUT ASID The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is a community of people—designers, industry representatives, educators and students—committed to interior design. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people's lives. Its more than 40,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. www.asid.org. The American Society of Interior Designers - Illinois Chapter (ASID-IL) is a non-profit professional association representing the interests of more than 1,600 Illinois interior designers, students and design industry partner members. Its vision is to be the voice of design in Illinois and to provide information through quality, timely communications, to educate its members and clients, and to expand and to support market expansion. The Chapter is lead by a volunteer board that includes the Chapter's president, president-elect, 5 directors and a student representative.