Abigail Gearld, Madison Stewart and SFA Professor of Human Sciences Dr. Mitzi Perritt

Stephen F. Austin State University junior interior design majors Abigail Gearld and Madison Stewart won first place for their aqua bar lighting model, which they created as a project in SFA Professor of Human Sciences Dr. Mitzi Perritt's interior lighting class. Gearld and Stewart competed against their classmates, and Perritt presented various awards for the designs. Students were divided into teams of two and tasked with creating a non-residential architectural model and incorporating natural and artificial light in the project. "The students seem to enjoy this project each year. It allows them freedom to try creative applications of lighting in any type of non-residential space they desire," Perritt said. "Model-building can be a lot of fun and stirs the imagination. Models are one way to encourage students to think 'up' as well as 'out.' They learn to manipulate a volume of space and bring the interior to life with lighting."