Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Twenty-five graduating Mississippi State interior design majors from Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee are presenting their work in a special exhibition during the university’s upcoming Super Bulldog Weekend.

Free to all, the exhibition is available for viewing 4-6 p.m. Friday [April 20] and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday [April 21] in the first-floor showroom at the university’s Franklin Furniture Institute. The institute is located inside the Franklin Center at 201 Locksley Way in Starkville.

Works on display showcase the practical knowledge and range of skills that the rising professional designers have acquired throughout their participation in the state’s largest interior design program, which is housed in MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design.

In addition to general education coursework, the soon-to-be MSU alumni have gained studio experience in a variety of areas, including design theory, lighting design and interior construction and furniture design, among others.

Beth Miller, professor and director of MSU’s interior design program, said this year’s exhibition features works by students in the program’s furniture design class. Flexsteel sponsored a competition in the furniture design class, and the five finalists’ 3D printed prototypes and a full-scale prototype of the competition’s first place design winner will be on display.

“This senior class is one of the largest classes that we have graduated in many years. As a class, they have won numerous national and regional awards during their time in the program,” Miller said. “The majority of the seniors have already acquired internships in prestigious firms across the United States, and many students have been offered multiple internship opportunities. They are a great class, and we look forward to their success in the interior design profession.”

MSU’s senior interior design exhibitors include (by hometown):

BRANDON—Kathryn E. “Katie” Coit and Emily A. Gabell.

BREMEN, Alabama—Shelby E. Newton.

BURNSVILLE—Hannah E. Stricklen.

CLINTON—Cody Moore.

CORDOVA, Tennessee—Regan Sanders.

DIAMONDHEAD—Jessica H. Moore.

GERMANTOWN, Tennessee—Christine M. Smith.

GULFPORT—Annalee C. “Annie” Kesler.

HATTIESBURG—Abby K. Richardson.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—Ansley M. Zimmerman.

INDIANOLA—Alison F. Cowart.

JACKSON, Tennessee—Sydney E. Sharp.

LELAND—Katherine F. “Katie” Fratesi.

MADISON—Elizabeth Sosebee.

MEADVILLE—Hannah E. Monroe.

NETTLETON—Hannah R. Gentry.

OLIVE BRANCH—Natalie E. Watson.

PICAYUNE—Austin R. DeLoach.

REDWOOD—Tanner M. Jeffers.

RIDGELAND—Caroline R. Brantley and Elizabeth Shapley.

STARKVILLE—Brooke R. Pogue.

TUPELO—Lauren E. Bean.

WIGGINS—Felicia E. Martin.

Accredited by The Council for Interior Design Accreditation and National Association of Schools of Art and Design, MSU’s interior design program provides students with a broad background in interior elements, materials, sources and practical experience in the business of interior design.

For more information about the interior design program, contact Miller at 662-325-7689 or BMiller@caad.msstate.edu.

Learn more about MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design and its interior design program at www.caad.msstate.edu, as well as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CAADatMSU.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.