Not many students know about the Interior Design Program at Sacramento State, unless they too are interior design students. After Sac State?s triumph in March at the 2001 Student Career Forum Design Competition, however, other design schools on the West Coast have taken notice.

In Mariposa Hall room 4000E you can view some of the award-winning designs that Sac State students have created. The exhibit runs through Friday, and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A reception for the designers will be held tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at the exhibit.

Three Sac State students took first place in the contest, with a fourth taking second place and a fifth taking honorable mention. There were over 100 entries in the competition by students from California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Utah. The winners were awarded monetary prizes ranging from $100 to $500 at the daylong San Francisco event.

Although interior design majors are often referred to as interior decorators, there is a big difference between the two. The winners of this competition have learned about fire codes, building codes, construction techniques and how things are built. Interior design requires that students learn how to create a building or house from scratch; they do much more than simply picking out colors and fabrics.

“This exhibit represents a great deal of hard work and dedication of the students. It is an excellent reflection of the students and of what is demanded in their professional lives,” said Jill Pable, an assistant professor of interior design. “These designs show hundreds of decisions coming together in one space.”

Shown at the exhibit will be Kelley Morrison?s first place home design entry, Sindy Park?s first place entry of a barrier-free residential bathroom and Michie Schmitz?s first place kitchen design.

Second-place winner Erica Blue?s design for a home office and honorable mention winner Angela Elkins? home design are featured in the exhibit. Jill Spotts? design of a disability accessible bathroom that received first place in 2000, and Sean Taylor, a 1998 first place winner for his design of a self-contained living space, are also on display.

While viewing the winners of the Student Career Forum Design Competition,, don?t miss the model of the Literacy Bus. The Literacy Bus was a design proposed by several Sac State interior design students that became a reality, and is used for the Woodland City Library?s literacy programs.

Stop by and view the creative works of students whose work may one day be the inspiration of the future office space you work in or home you live in.