Contact: Karen Brasher
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Four Mississippi State students in the university's College of Architecture, Art and Design are being honored by major organizations representing the home furnishing industry.
Sophomore interior design majors Emily C Hardin of Calhoun City and Cristen N. Richard of Star, along with junior art/sculpture major Sarah G. Kilpatrick of Mathiston, are receiving individual $11,155 scholarships from the American Home Furnishings Alliance.
Sophomore interior design major Marguerite Johnson of Ridgeland is this year's selection for the Southeastern Home Furnishings Association $2,000 Michael Gilchrist Memorial Scholarship.
AHFA is the world's largest and most influential trade organization serving the home furnishings industry. SHFA is an affiliate of the National Home Furnishings Association, the country's largest organization representing home furnishings retailers.
"The institute is pleased to be able to secure scholarships for students interested in pursuing a career in the furniture and home furnishings industries," said Bill Martin, director of MSU's Franklin Furniture Institute.
"Given the importance of Mississippi's furniture manufacturing sector, it is important to develop future leaders in one of the state's largest employers," he added.
To qualify, students must be enrolled in the colleges of Architecture, Art and Design, Business, Forest Resources, or Bagley College of Engineering, all partners of the furniture institute. An essay on how they will use their degrees to work in the furniture and home furnishings industries also is required.